Just One More Day
by Naomitrekkie
Summary: A spin on "Resolutions." What would have happened if Janeway and Chakotay had one more day on New Earth.
1. Chapter 1

"Chakotay, I love it," Janeway said. She was looking at his design for a boat he was planning on building.

"I have everything I need to start building," he said. Janeway looked at him and smiled. He loved that smile and she knew it. She was excited about the boat, but they were going to be on New Earth for the rest of their lives. A boat could wait a day, couldn't it?

"You don't have to start building today?" she asked. She gave him a look and he could tell what she wanted. He wanted it too, but he wasn't going to make the first move.

"I guess I could start construction tomorrow," he said. They started kissing as soon as he finished his last word, although they swept in while he was talking. They managed to make it to the bedroom without knocking anything over while continuing to kiss passionately. In the bedroom, they made love to each other for the first time.

--

The next morning, Janeway woke up, her head lying on Chakotay's bare chest. She didn't get up, instead, she stayed there, listening to Chakotay's breathing. She was in love with him and she couldn't remember why she hadn't let herself express her love.

It was a quiet morning and Janeway could only hear Chakotay's light snoring. It would be easy to miss if some other noise was being made, but in the silence off the morning, she could hear it perfectly. She snuggled closer to him, but did so carefully, so he wouldn't wake up. She ended up falling asleep again, listening to him.

He woke up shortly and looked at the peacefully sleeping Janeway on his chest. He smiled, then looked back at her. She was an angel, he was sure of it. He decided to make her breakfast in bed, so he carefully got up, put something on, and went into the kitchen.

When Janeway woke up again, it was because she was being kissed on the head and smelt coffee. She opened her eyes and smiled at Chakotay.

"Good morning," he said. "Did you sleep well?"

"Wonderfully," she said smiling as she sat up. "You?"

"I have never slept better in my life," he answered. "Are you hungry?" Janeway realized she was and looked at the tray with food on it. There was two plates of raspberry pancakes, with raspberries grown on New Earth and a glass of coffee and a glass of milk. Chakotay wasn't a big coffee drinker, especially at this hour, whatever hour it may be, and Janeway had given up trying to convince him to drink it.

So they ate their pancakes with butter and syrup, and they couldn't stop looking at each other. Everything was perfect, until Janeway heard something. She wasn't sure what it was, but it was something.

"Do you hear that?" she asked. Chakotay looked at her, wondering what it was.

"I don't hear a thing," he said. Janeway listened harder and thought she heard words. The voice was familiar, she knew, but after two months of only hearing Chakotay, any voice would sound stranger.

"It's saying something," she said. She stood up, put on her robe, and walked into the kitchen. Chakotay followed her.

"It's louder in here," she said. Chakotay listened and heard something as well.

"I hear it too." They stayed silent until Janeway could make it out. Chakotay could only hear buzzing. She knew what it was.

It was the combadge.

Janeway went over to grab it from the shelf, and walked over to Chakotay. They could make it out a bit better now; at least enough to hear the words.

"Paris to Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay," it said through static. They looked at each other, unsure what to do. Neither wanted to activate it, because they knew the moment they did, they would be back in command roles and their relationship would go back to how it previously had been. Yet, they knew they must.

"You want to answer it, or should I?" Janeway asked. She looked up at him, waiting for an answer.

"Why don't you? They are probably dying to hear their captain," he said. Janeway nodded, but she noticed he said "they" and "their" instead of "we're" and "our." She clicked the combadge and answered, reluctantly.

"Janeway here," she said. Secretly, she hoped this was a dream or a malfunction, or something. Anything but what was really happening. It wasn't that she didn't love Voyager and her crew, she just didn't want to leave New Earth and Chakotay--or at least her and Chakotay's relationship. it couldn't be the same on Voyager as it was here, and they both knew it.

"Captain, we have found a cure for you and the commander's disease. Voyage will be arriving in approximately 36 hours," Paris said. The static wasn't as bad as before, but it was still there, only they didn't hear it. They heard it all too clear.

"Thank you. Janeway out," she said, then deactivated the link. She looked up at Chakotay and neither said anything for a long time. Eventually, Janeway broke the silence.

"I guess we should pack," she said. With those words, they got ready to go back to Voyager and become "captain" and "commander" again.

--

Paris was off by only twenty minutes, and they used that time to talk. Neither had spoke about what was going to happen next, since they knew it would be painful. Without command, they could be what they wished, but not that it was back, it was going to be harder to keep their relationship from going to far.

"When we get back--" Janeway began but Chakotay cut her off.

"Why don't we wait until we get back to decide?" he suggested. She nodded her head in agreement, just in time to catch Paris calling to them.

"Paris to Captain Janeway," he said.

"Janeway here," she said.

"Captain, we are ready to beam you both to Sickbay to be given the cure," he said.

"We're ready to beam up," she said. She looked at Chakotay once more as Kathryn Janeway, before Captain Janeway returned.

They were transported up and rematerialized in Sickbay. They looked around and found the Doctor standing with two hyposprays: one in each hand. He was smiling from ear to ear. Kes was with him and she too was smiling.

"It's good to see you both back," he said. "You won't believe what the past two months have been like. A horrible experience for morale."

"Really?" Janeway said. He pressed a hypospray against her neck and gave it to her, then gave the other to Chakotay. "So, how did you come up with the cure?"

The Doctor scanned them, stalling for time. "Well," he began. "Although we tried following orders, there were Vidiian ships everywhere we went."

"So they went against my orders," she said. Someone standing there wouldn't even have realized how angry Janeway was by the relaxed way she said it. It was almost like she didn't care. Only Chakotay realized she was angry--not about the order breaking really, but the timing. "I would have thought better from Tuvok."

"Well . . ." Kes said, looking to the Doctor. The Doctor didn't say anything and Kes continued. They would find out soon enough. "Tuvok didn't break your orders." Janeway and Chakotay looked at her, curious.

"But if Tuvok didn't, then what happened?" she asked, but Chakotay realized it right away.

"Paris."

To Be Continued . . .

This is my first fanfic, so please leave comments. Thanks!


	2. Chapter 2

Author's note: This is my first fanfic, so comments are welcome. I hope you enjoy it.

NOTE: Paramount owns Star Trek Voyager and theses characters. I am just playing with them before it's their bedtime.

--

"Paris," he said. Janeway looked at him, not knowing how Tom could be involved, but she did understand he believed Tom was behind this.

"You think Tom did this?" she asked.

"I'm thinking mutiny," he clarified. Then it all made sense to Janeway. She needed to get to the bridge and check it out.

"Doctor, if you don't mind, we would like to leave and go to the bridge, if we're healthy," she said. He scanned them once more before making a decision.

"Go right ahead," he said. "The cure appears to be working." With that, they left Sickbay and headed for the turbolift. Next stop, the bridge.

--

Tom knew that when that turbolift opened, it would be Janeway and Chakotay. He stood up the chair he had been sitting in--the captain's--and announced, "Captain on deck." The remaining bridge staff stood. Janeway forced a smile at them, then walked to Tom.

"Tom, my ready room, now," she said. Tom walked toward the ready room, but Harry wasn't going to let Tom take the blame.

"Captain, this wasn't Tom's idea," he said. She looked at him in disbelief.

"What wasn't his idea?" she said, anger hinted in her voice.

"The mutiny," he clarified.

"So whose was it?" she asked, trying to keep her voice in check. She didn't know what he was going to say, but she hada feeling she wasn't going to like it.

"It was mine." She was speechless. It was so unlike Harry that she hadn't even suspected him. "Tom only got involved after we had the whole thing planned out."

"We?" she asked. At this, B'Elanna stepped forward form the engineering station.

"Harry and I," she said. "It was his idea, but I helped plan it." Chakotay looked at B'Elanna, disappointed. B'Elanna could see it, but stood her ground. "Mutiny was only plan B. Tuvok wouldn't listen to reason and left us no other choice."

Janeway didn't know what to say, but clearly, this was going to be dealt with here and now. _I hate when they gang up on me_, she thought before speaking.

"Let me get this straight. You tried to reason with Tuvok, he wouldn't change position, so you mutinied, Tom took command, contacted the Vidiians against orders, and then came back for us?" The bridge officers looked at one another.

"Well, sort of," B'Elanna said.

"Sort of?" Chakotay asked. "Something must be missing in the story because that is what it seems like."

"A mutiny wasn't necessary for Tom to take command. Crewmembers were already beginning to stop working and stop listening to commands. Tuvok was putting them in the brig. We only set them free, took command, and locked him in the brig," B'Elanna said. She knew this was looking bad, so she walked toward the Captain, trying to reason with her. "Captain, if we hadn't done what we did, the whole crew would be in the brig, and Voyager would be a sitting duck, dead in the water. You should have heard Naomi Wildman. She said her first word. It was 'Janeway.'" Janeway had been about to say something but was silenced by that. If an infant knew her name and wanted her back, then surely, she couldn't go too hard on the crew. Besides, she really wanted to be back on Voyager.

She made her decision.

"Let Tuvok out and I'll forget this mutiny. If you need me, I'll be in my ready room," she said, then walked into her room. Chakotay watched her and then turned to Tom. He pressed his combadge and called down to the brig, where they were to let Tuvok out.

--

Tuvok was let out of the brig, and the first thing that happened was that he was summoned to the captain's ready room by Captain Janeway. He complied and was there as fast as he could move.

He rang, heard Janeway call him in, then entered. "You wanted to see me, Captain?" he asked.

"Yes, actually. It's about the mutiny," she said.

"What about it?" he asked.

"You're supposed to say, 'What mutiny?'" she said. There was a slight smile on her face and Tuvok realized she was joking, but he was surprised she was acting this way. he was surprised, but he knew it wasn't illogical. Tuvok's face remained unmoved, so she explained. "I've decided that the mutiny never happened and no disciplinary action will be taken." Tuvok nodded his head in understanding, but he still believed there should be some for of punishment. Janeway read it off of him, but left it alone. She wasn't in the mood for Vulcan logic.

She waited for him to say something, but he said nothing. After a few minutes of silence, she could take it no longer.

"If you have nothing to say, Tuvok, then you are dismissed," she said. He left, saying nothing. Once the doors closed, she walked over to her couch, lied down, and fell asleep. She needed to rest, to think. Sleep was calling her and she was not about to go to her quarters. If she was in her ready room, someone might think she was working.

--

Janeway stood and looked around her. She stood in the middle of a room of mirrors. She looked in each one, but she did not see herself. The reflection in each was different. In one, she was standing tall, a Starfleet admiral. In the next, she was a mother. In the third, she was a civilian and married to Chakotay. In the fourth, she was Amelia Earheart. She looked around at the rest and started to scream.

She pounded on the mirrors, but the images haunted her. She began spining and all of the images began to blur together. She wasn't able to see clearly. When she was finally able to see, she looked around.

She was in a dark cave. In the middle of the cave, was an old, locked box. It was a cage, locked with a large padlock and chains. She walked toward it, and saw what was inside. It was something red, with the word "Janeway" on it. She examined it closer, but never figured out what it was.

She heard a voice and sat up from her couch. She looked around and saw she was in her ready room. She was breathing heavily and got up. She tried to remember what she had dreamt, but she only heard "Find the key!" screaming in her mind. She might not have been as worried, if not for the fact she knew the voice, but could not place it.

--

The next day, Janeway and Chakotay went to Sickbay to be re-scanned by the Doctor. They were sitting on two biobeds while he got two hyposprays. The cure was working, but they would need another dose, just to be sure.

As the Doctor got ready, Janeway tried not to look into Chakotay's eyes--she still wasn't sure what she was going to say. Since she had gotten Tom's call, she couldn't think of anything but him and she knew she would not be able to look him in the eye just yet. Luckily, the Doctor walked up with the hyposprays and pressed them to their necks.

"You are free to go. Same time tomorrow," he said.

"Doctor," Janeway said. "How long will we have to take these?"

"According to the Vidiians, at least once a day for a week, but I am going to say a month, just to be safe," he answered.

"Thank you," she said, then stood up. She was not looking forward to more of these uncomfortable sessions. She walked out, and Chakotay followed. He did not speak to her, knowing she was going to need time. He knew she would be ready in her own time and pushing her would do no good. They went their separate ways, neither speaking to the other, except to relate orders and ship status. Janeway knew she needed to think and Chakotay knew too, but he wondered if she was taking this just a bit too far.

--

A month passed, and Tom Paris noticed the distance between Janeway and Chakotay. They only spoke about matters pertaining to the ship and crew, and nothing separate and only in front of crewmembers. Never alone together. He had seen they way they acted in Sickbay--he did take a few duty ships now and then--and how they couldn't even look at one another. Neelix told him they stopped having their weekly dinners.

Tom, B'Elanna, and Harry sat at a table in the mess hall, a chair empty at their table. The only other available seat was with Janeway. Chakotay walked in, passed Chakotay, and sat with them. Janeway didn't even look up from her work.

"Hello," he said. The there did not know how to respond--it was an odd situation. B'Elanna was the first to break the silence.

"What happened to you?" she asked. They all could tell she was angry--it was her hot klingon blood.

"What?"

"You're not yourself. You can't stop looking at her but you stay even farther away. What happened to you on New Earth?"

"Nothing happened," he said.

"Chakotay, don't lie to me. I know you better than that. Something happened back there, we all know it."

"Nothing happened," he insisted.

"If nothing happened, sit with her," she said.

"What?" he said.

"You heard me. Sit with her. Talk with her. Surely two months didn't leave you with nothing to talk about." Chakotay didn't know what to do, but saw Janeway leave. He got up, and followed her out. He realized he needed to say something.

"Hey," he said. He realized he had no clue what to say. He had been thinking about if everyday for that past month, but he couldn't think of what to say. Janeway looked at him, a bit surprised. "On your way to Sickbay for your last dose?"

"Yes," she answered and walked on. He was going to need to talk to her, it was driving him mad. Besides, he would feel bad for making her feel bad for being the reason B'Elanna was going to kill him.

--

The next afternoon, when they usually went to Sickbay , Chakotay went to the ready room. He rang the bell, and she called him in. He walked in and she expected reports. He gave her them, but stayed where he was. She looked at him, knowing what he was going to say already. She had been waiting for this, but still didn't know what she was going to say. Anticipation was killing her.

Actually, she had been dreading this. She had been thinking about what she was going to say every moment--awake and asleep--for the past month. She knew that no matter what she said, no matter how sure she was it was jsut right, she would wake up and scratch the words.

She stood up, and walked over to him, deciding she might as well speak from her heart. At least then, her feelings would be out there.

He opened her mouth to speak, but she covered it with her hand.

"Let me speak," she said. "I don't know what to say, but my heart doesn't want to go back. My heart screams for you, takes over my mind, and lets me think of nothing but you. I can't stop and I don't want to, but my job, the delta quadrant, and . . ." She couldn't say another word. She wanted to turn away, to cry, but Chakotay grabbed her and held her close.

"I will never leave you. You stole my heart since the start and no matter what you do, it belongs to you," he said. She looked up into his eyes and everything else disappeared. It was just the two of them.

Just then, they were interrupted by her combadge.

They separated and Janeway answered it. It was Tuvok. _Tuvok_, she began to think. That was the last thing she remembered before blacking out.

To be continued . . .

What do you think? I'll try to get the next chapter out as soon as possible, but I have lots of schoolwork so I hope I don't keep you waiting too long. Please comment.


	3. Chapter 3

NOTE: I do not own Star Trek and its characters, we're just on a play date. They'll go home . . . eventually.

Author's note: I hope you enjoy this chapter, it may be a few days for the next one. Enjoy!

Chakotay saw her fall before she actually did. He caught her and helped her gently to the floor. He hit his combadge and they were both transported to Sickbay. Chakotay watched at the Doctor scanned her. He looked at the Doctor as his expressions changed. He picked up a hypospray and injected it into her. He scanned her again, then he walked over to a console.

Chakotay couldn't believe it. The Doctor was acting like nothing was going on. He moved from his place near the entrance over to him.

"Doctor, what are you doing?" he asked. The Doctor did not even look up. instead, he just took the tricorder and scanned Chakotay. He nodded his head and mumbled something Chakotay could not make out.

"Just as I thought," he said.

"What are you talking about, Doctor? Is the Captain alright?"

"The Captain will recover fine; it was just a reaction to being taken off of the VDC." Chakotay gave him a look of confusion. "Vidiian Drug Cure. Commander, sometimes it is smart to listen to me." Chakotay kept his thoughts to himself. "I just scanned you and she's only reacting due to her unique physiology."

"'Unique physiology?' Doc, what are you talking about?" The Doctor was getting fee up with this.

"Commander, the Captain and you are different, and since you are the only humans to have ever taken this VDC, there were bound to be different side affects. Now, if you don't mind, I have a patient to take care of." And with that, Chakotay was stepping out of Sickbay. He had been unaware he had been moving backwards while the Doctor moved forward but once he as out, he stared at Sickbay's doors. He couldn't enter or move away. He could just tare and worry.

--

Getting Chakotay out was easy, it was telling him what was going on without lying that was difficult. He had to honor doctor-patient confidentiality awhile reporting to the commanding officer. Not only that, he knew this situation to be unique.

He looked over the tricorder readings again, then over to Janeway. He didn't feel the need to wake her--she was treated, but she was going to be staying for a few days. Besides, she was going to need her rest because when he banned her from coffee, she would not be able to stay up for the same long hours.

He thought that over. Did he need to ban her from coffee, even temporarily? he looked and saw she had replicated three cups that date alone, and that's just replicated. She probably had some of Neelix's coffee as well. Maybe a restriction. Only one cup a day and decaf.

That could work. Maybe he could even allow two cups, but he knew it needed to be decaf. Of course, if she wouldn't agree to the restriction, then he could always ban it. That made him smile.

"What's so funny?" he heard. He looked and saw Janeway trying to sit up. She was succeeding and he walked over to her.

"Just my wonderful luck," he said sarcastically. It crossed his mind that as long as a week she was going to have to stay in Sickbay for observation--if he could keep her there long enough--and did not want to have to deal with her without coffee. His luck was great.

"Am I that bad?" she asked.

"You, you are in perfect health," he said.

"Then what happened?" she asked.

"You blacked out." He said it so plainly, it was like it should have been the most obvious thing ever. She looked at him and seemed to be remembering.

"Yes, I remember. What caused it?" she asked.

"A metabolism clash. Taking you of VDC had some unforeseeable repercussions. I will need to keep you in Sickbay for observation for a few days, continue taking the VDC, and you will have caffeine restrictions." Janeway gave him a "you've got to be kidding look."

"No coffee?" she confirmed. It had to be a dream or a joke or something and the only way she would believe it would be for him to explain it more.

"I did not say that, however, it would be best. Since I know you will not be able to resist, you may have to cups of coffee a day maximum and thy must be decaf. No regular. Under no circumstances." Janeway wanted to complain but figured it wouldn't be that bad. She could always replicate some regular and he'd never know the difference. "I will make sure the computer knows to only give you decaf, Captain. You won't need to worry about that." She smiled although she was actually being weirder out by the fact it was like he was reading her mind.

"Ok, so why did I black out exactly?" She had gotten so caught up with the coffee, she hadn't heard if he explained the whole biochemistry. Plus, it would give him time to explain why there was coffee restrictions.

"Every day, for the past month, you have been taking the VDC. Except for today. Well, part of you has gotten . . . addicted to the drug and stopping the treatment could do harm." Janeway noticed how he beat around the bush and choose words carefully.

"Doctor, what it is?" She was tired and was not in the mood for him to babble for hours and still be no closer to knowing what was going on. Actually, she would know less then and be more confused.

"Captain, you are pregnant."

To be continued . . . please comment


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: I know it took a while, but I wanted to make sure it was just right. I hope you enjoy it and please comment!

NOTE: I do not own Star Trek: Voyager or its characters; I am just playing with them for a little play date.

--

Janeway looked at him, speechless. So much was going through her mind, she wasn't even able to think straight, let along string any of it into words and then sentences. Cheer, guilt, anger, dread, and many other feelings were floating through her mind, and controlling her. She was happy because she always wanted a child. She felt guilty because she was going to have to raise this child in an unsafe environment in the Delta Quadrant. She felt anger because she was no longer going to be able to hide her feelings. She was dreading going to have to tell Chakotay. She was curious about why the Doctor didn't notice before, and was angry because she realized he must have known earlier on. She felt so confused, not knowing what was important.

_Talk about mood swings_, she thought. _Too fast to even be expressed._ With that thought, she felt like she would be able to sort things out and sat in silence for the next few minutes.

She finally sorted her thoughts and decided to deal with her emotions later. She knew he was going to keep her stuck here for a while. "How does VDC play into things?"

"I did not know about the fetus until today, Captain, which is why I did not know that this drug has been getting into the fetus's systems. Without the drug the fetus has come it rely on, it reacts in such a way which caused you to black out," he said, obvious he had chosen his words carefully. "I plan to work out a procedure to rid the fetus of this dependancy, but until I do, you will have to stay on the drug." Janeway trusted the Doctor would be able to find a solution and relaxed, until realizing a horrifying fact.

"She . . . he . . . it, it wasn't infected, was it?" Janeway hoped not and the Doctor said no. She had a feeling he was being extra considerate because she could have him decompiled in a nanosecond. She was going to have to thank Kes for teaching him some manners.

"No, just an addiction," he said. "If that is all, I will begin work." Then he walked away before Janeway could say a thing. She watched him leave, then took a deep breath. She had some thinking to do. _Boy do_ _I wish I had a cup of coffee right now._

--

Janeway fell asleep pondering her situation before Chakotay came back to check on her. He was worried and walked over to her. The Doctor sensed trouble and left his office to stop him off.

"Commander, she needs her rest," he tried to say, but Chakotay wasn't in the mood. "Computer, deactivate the EMH." With that, the Doctor vanished. Chakotay walked over to the sleeping Janeway. He didn't want to wake her--he knew how cranky she could be--and instead watched her. He didn't have to wait long because she soon woke up. He smiled at her and she smiled back, not realizing where they were.

"How you feeling?" he asked. Then it came back to her.

"Better," she said. She sat up too be at a more level height.

"You scarred me back there. Blacking out like that."

"I'll try not to do that again," she said. She gave him one of her smiles which meant she was in a good mood. "Especially if it means a week trapped in Sickbay."

"A week?" he asked.

"Yes, the Doctor insists I stay for a week's worth of observation. In case of a relapse or something. I only caught 'stay for a week' and then stopped listening."

"That's not very Captain-like of you," he joked.

"Then it's a good thing he's officially declared me 'unsuitable for command.' Now you get to be Captain for a week. And no, Captain's cannot override the Chief Medical Officer in matters of health," she added. She smiled evilly at him and he was glad to see his Kathryn back. Well, at least to see her happy. She seemed eve more cheerful than usual, well, than she did before New Earth. Of course, nothing would compare to that night . . .

He snapped out of that line of thought when Janeway looked around and seemed to panic. Only slightly and in her Janeway way of panic: let no one see it. He had gotten to recognize that and all of Janeway's looks.

"Where is the Doctor?" she asked.

"I deactivated him," he answered.

"What?!" she practically yelled. Her head turned so fast from wandering the room to him, he was amazed it was still on. "Deactivated him? Why?" He was getting ready to answer, but Janeway didn't give her the chance. "Computer, activate the EMH."

The Doctor appeared in his place and stood how he always did when activated. "Please state the nature of the medical emergency," he said as usual. Then he snapped back tot he situation, grabbed a tricorder, and walked over to Janeway. "Captain, I see the Commander has woken you." Janeway could hear the anger in the EMH's voice as he scanned her.

"Well, I better get back to work," he said and walked away. As Janeway watched him leave, she began to worry about other people deactivating him. If they continued to do so, she might be stuck in Sickbay for the next eight months.

Chakotay was going to speak but Janeway stopped him. "I'm really tired, Chakotay. Besides, you need to announce to the crew that I'm being held hostage in Sickbay and you've been temporarily appointed Captain." She smiled as she said it, but Chakotay heard its fakeness. Something was eating at her and he would find out.

Just not right now.

He left Sickbay and Janeway watched him leave. She was about to kick herself for telling him to leave, but Tom practically ran in, not to be late for duty. After pretending to be disobedient, he needed to built trust back up. Of course, seeing people was the last thing she wanted to do, but she knew it was the best thing for her. She hated irony. And logic. _That would be most illogical_, she imagined Tuvok saying in her head. She laughed. Tom looked at her, surprised.

"Captain," he said. "I didn't know you were here."

"Yes, well, thanks to the Doctor, I will be here for a week."

"A week of the Doctor and his opera. You might consider deactivating his singing subroutines. I know I have," he said. She laughed. Tom could be funny at times. He was walking over to the Doctor's office when janeway stopped him.

"Tom, why don't you leave the Doctor alone? He working on something," she said. Tom looked at her and decided he might as well listen to her. She was still his superior and he would do anything to stay away from the Doctor. So he walked over to Janeway and they began talking about the latest Voyager gossip, what was going on in the Alpha Quadrant, and other assorted things--everything except what happened at New Earth and what was going on with her and Chakotay.

--

After Tom's shift, the rest of the week was boring. The Doctor stayed in his office and the medics worked around Sickbay. Only a few minor cases came in, nothing the Doctor needed to see. Janeway talked to kes and Samantha Wildman a few times on shift, but other than that, she only had her thoughts.

She wanted to avoid the subject, but when the Doctor announced he had a treatment, she realized it was now or never. She mentally began sorting out her feelings and responsibilities.

_I have to tell him eventually. This ship is too small for him not to find out and he'll know by looking at me soon_, she thought for the billionth time. _I can't keep pushing him away. Mark probably moved on, and if he hasn't, well . . . it's too late to worry about that. There is nothing I can do about this._

_Why do I keep looking at this like it's a curse? For one, I'll have to give up command more often, I'll have to raise the child and command at the same time, and the Delta Quadrant is a bad place to be raising a child._

_I have to confront my feelings._

That thought came from the vary back of her mind and the thought scarred her. She had never been one to answer to her emotions, always pushing them aside. It was part of the job. She laughed. She was _afraid_ of her emotions. _I guess Vulcan emotionlessness rubs off._ She smiled at that thought and wondered what Tuvok would say to that.

She was wondering it when the Doctor walked over to her and asked her to lie down. Then she snapped back to the situation and began to sort her feelings.

By the time the Doctor was done, she had made her decision.

To Be Continued . . .

Remember, please comment! Thank you!


	5. Chapter 5

NOTE: i do not own Star Trek: Voyager or any of its characters. I'm just playing with them and they will be home by bedtime (they have a late bedtime).

Author's Note: I hope this is good and please comment. I have a vague idea of where this is going, so please bear with me. Enjoy!

--

"Alright," the Doctor said. "You can leave Sickbay." Janeway had been sleeping only seconds before and a week without her coffee was tiring her out. So she thought she had imagined the Doctor talking.

"Captain," he said. She was still looking at him like he wasn't talking, and yawned. "Captain," he repeated, louder. This time, Janeway looked alert and to him.

"Sorry Doctor. Just tired. What did you say?" He sighed internally, but showed no signs of it to her. The last thing he wanted was her to get angry at him.

""I said you could leave now, Captain. The treatment seems to be working. It's been too days without VDC and the fetus has been fine. Just come back tomorrow for a follow up." Then he gave her a hypospray to the neck. She looked at him for an explanation. Clearly he wasn't a mind reader, so Janeway asked him. She actually had expected him to explain himself.

"What was that?" she barked.

"The second part of your treatment. You needed the original genetic adjustment and then you needed an oxygen boost in your blood," he said, like it was obvious. She agreed with him, still not fully understanding, but deciding it didn't matter.

She got up and walked out of Sickbay. She had changed into her uniform earlier and was headed toward the bridge. She knew Chakotay would be up there. She almost wanted to turn around and run back into Sickbay, just so she wouldn't have to talk to him.

_No_, she told herself mentally, _I have to tell him. I need to talk to him. He needs to know._ With that thought in mind, she headed toward the turbolift.

She got to the lift quickly and told it to go to "Deck One, Bridge." It started to rise and Janeway began to breath in and out, trying to calm her nerves. She couldn't remember a time she was more nervous. She'd faces may enemies, gone on many missions, and experienced many nerve wracking things, but this made her the most nervous. She wasn't sure why that was.

_Because you are about to face your deepest fears head on and give away control of the situation_, she reminded herself. That didn't help her much but by the time the turbolift doors opened, she showed no signs of nerves.

She walked out of the turbolift and over toward her seat. Tuvok, being stationed closest to the turbolift, saw her first.

"Captain on deck," he said. The rest of the bridge crew stood up and look over at her. Chakotay had been sitting in the captain's chair, but now was smiling over to her. She smiled at them all, and let the moment sink in. It was only a few nanoseconds in reality, but she felt like they had been like that for hours.

"As you were," she said. Then she walked over to Chakotay. "Commander, a word in my ready room?" She gave him a look and he realized it wasn't all about official business. He got up and followed her.

"Tuvok, you have the bridge," Janeway said before disappearing into her ready room, Chakotay behind her.

Janeway walked into her ready room and smiled. She headed for the replicator, preparing to order a coffee, but decided against it. Until she reprogramed it to give her decaf when she ordered coffee, she couldn't drink a drop. Instead, she went and sat on her couch. Chakotay walked over and stood.

Janeway wanted to forget it. Now that she was actually here, she couldn't find the courage to bring it up. _Kathryn Janeway, get a grip. You can't put this off. You need to tell him before he hears it from the crew._ She knew it was true. She smiled at him and told him to sit down. He did and they sat there for a few moments. Janeway knew what she was going to say but she couldn't bring herself to say it.

But before she could speak, Chakotay did. "Kathryn, this may be out of line, but I need to know how you feel about me. I can't keep away any longer." Janeway looked at him and she could tell it took all his courage to say that. She knew how to show him.

She leaned in and kissed him on the lips.

At first, it was a light peck and then turned into a long passionate kiss. Once they separated, they sat in silence. Neither spoke. They just stared into each other's eyes.

Janeway had somewhat figured out what she was going to say, but now she forgot it completely. She knew she needed to speak from the heart. She gave him another brief kiss, before getting ready to tell him. She opened her mouth to tell him, but was interrupted.

Not by Chakotay, but by Tuvok over the comm system. _Tuvok, you have the crappiest timing in the whole galaxy_, she wanted to say. Of course, as captain, she couldn't say that. Instead, she responded, "What is it Tuvok?" She tried to make it seem like she wanted to be left alone. She hoped he would be able to tell.

"Captain, there is something you and the Commander should see. Please come to the bridge." Janeway sighed internally. Chakotay helped her up and they walked out to the bridge. _I'll tell him later. In my quarters. Yeah, I'll ask him there and I'll make dinner. I'll pretend it's just our weekly dinner, five months late. That I'm just making up for all the ones we missed. Then I'll tell him, after we eat . . ._

Her thoughts stopped mid-sentence because she was now standing on the bridge. She was staring at the view screen and her eyes wouldn't move from it. As Tuvok played the message, she missed the words. All she could do was stare.

She had not been expecting this. It was the furthest thing from her mind. It was almost unbelievable.

_This changes things. This changes things a lot._

To Be Continued . . .

More soon, please comment!


	6. Chapter 6

Author's note: i hope you like it. Please comment. I am going out of town and won't be back until Saturday at least. Enjoy!

NOTE: I do not own Star Trek: Voyager or its characters. I'm just playing with them for a little play date.

Janeway was in her ready room, replaying the message. She had no idea what she was going to do. This made things worse. She already knew the message by heart but she replayed it again.

On her personal screen is Seska, holding an infant that appears to be a Cardassian and human hybrid. She is in a panic. "Chakotay, Culluh knows the child isn't his. He's going to kill him and me. If you don't care about me, at least care about your son," she says, then something crashes and the message ends. Janeway stares at the message and paused it again on the close up of the infant. She searched again for any chance that the child may be Kazon and not human, but found none.

She got a ring at the door and called the person in. It was Chakotay. She looked at him, trying to hide her true feelings about seeing him. She didn't actually know how she felt, there was just so much. All she knew was that she was angry at him, but she wasn't sure why. This wasn't Chakotay's fault; she stole his DNA. Even with that running through her head, she felt angry.

She realized it must be because she was carrying his child. He didn't know it yet, but she was. He hadn't seemed that receptive of this child and she realized her anger was from fear. _I'm afraid he'll reject the baby_, she thought. Knowing that caused her to calm down. _Maybe it wasn't such a bad thing he came._

"Captain--" he began, but Janeway cut him off.

"You want to discuss Seska," she said. "I do too." She walked over to him, getting up from behind her desk to do so. "Chakotay, this is your decsison. If you want to go save . . . help, Voyager is behind you." She couldn't say "save your son." It was too painful.

"Captain, I was going to ask if it was possible if we could. I visited my animal guide and I realized I can't leave this child at the Kazon's mercy," he said. He knew it was awkward and so did Janeway. She wanted to make it seem better and lighten the mood. She couldn't bear this awkwardness.

"Voyager is behind you. And I am too," she said. She realized now would be the perfect moment to tell him and got ready to do so, when her combadge chirped. Internally, she scowled. Especially when it was Tuvok. _Either he has the crappiest timing in the world, or he's planning it_, she thought as she answered.

"Janeway here."

"Captain, please report to the bridge." Then it ended. Janeway walked around Chakotay and walked out. Chakotay followed. They looked at the view screen and saw a small Kazon ship. A damaged, small, Kazon ship. they were hailing.

"I am Tierian. I am running from Culluh. He wants to kill me. I was one of Seska's servants," he said.

"Slow down," she said. "What happened?"

"After Seska made her distress message, they found her and Culluh killed her. Then sent the child to a be a servant."

"What happened to you?"

"I bribed the guard and stole a shuttle. Now the Kazon are after me." Janeway thought about it and told Tierian to be prepared to beam over.

Tierian was helpful and gave them the coordinates for the location where Chakotay's son had been sent. Janeway and Chakotay were skeptical but they couldn't leave the child. They headed toward the coordinates, when a few small Kazon ships attacked, targeting secondary systems. Minor damage was done and they were gone. Janeway sent repair crews to repair the secondary systems.

Before the crews could finish, five large Kazon ships headed toward Voyager, surrounding her. Janeway knew it was time for Plan B. They were still too far for the Kazon to attack and so she needed to get the plan in action.

"Chakotay," she said. "You said you met some Talaxians while I was in Sickbay."

"Yes."

"Would they help us?"

"They might."

"Good. I want you, Tom, and Neelix to go out into a shuttle and go find the Talaxians. Get them to help."

"Captain, won't you need us here?"

"Tactical can easily be manned by Harry and there's not much Tom can do while we're under attack and surrounded. We already know they know our secondary systems are down and are counting on that. They don't want to destroy us. They want to use us."

"You didn't say why you wanted me to go."

"The Talaxians knew you to be in charge. Besides, we can make the records think you, Tom, and Tuvok were still on New Earth. No one will know. We can say we left the shuttle with you in case you found a cure. They will have no proof. Tierian took his death pill and everyone else on board will agree that you are no longer aboard."

"How will we go undetected? The Kazon are sure to notice us."

"Not with this." She picked something up and Chakotay realized it was a cloaking device. "I'm sure you know some Maquis tricks to hide the ion trail." She handed him the cloak and didn't give him time to ask about where she got it. "Go integrate this into one of the shuttles and get ready for the mission."

Chakotay was walking away, when spur of the moment, Janeway gave him one last kiss on the lips. He kissed back, then left. Little did she know that would be the last time they would see each other for some time.

To Be Continued . . .

Please comment!


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Note: Sorry for taking so long to post again but I have had Internet problems and AP tests and other things and this kind of got pushed aside. I am glad you all have liked my story and I hope you like the way it is going.

Note: I do not own Star Trek: Voyager or any of the characters.

--

Chakotay's shuttle left under cloak only thirty minutes earlier, but the Kazon were already there. The first thing they did was take out their primary systems and Voyager was left venerable. They tried to fight back, but it was useless. The Kazon ship attached itself and boarded. The crew fought but to no effect. The Kazon had taken over. Their last hope was with Tuvok, Tom, and Chakotay.

Culluh walked out onto the bridge, followed by Seska and her baby. _A trap, of coarse_, Janeway realized. It had been too easy. She should have suspected something was up.

Culluh gave the order to have them all rounded up in cargo bay 1. Soon, the bridge crew along with the rest of the crew found themselves in the cargo bay. The Kazon were stripping them of their combadges. Janeway hid hers in her pocket and the Kazon did not realize what was going on. She was waiting to find out what was going to happen, when one Kazon grabbed her up and told her to follow him. She did and another Kazon with a weapon followed her. She was walked to the ready room. She could no longer call it hers because it wasn't.

She walked in to find Culluh sitting behind the desk and Seska standing next to him, son in hand.

"Where is Chakotay?" Culluh demanded.

"He died in a recent away mission. It was unfortunate," she said.

"Really?" Seska asked. "Then why did you walk right into our trap?"

"If the child was Chakotay's, we knew he wouldn't have wanted him to stay in the pain he would have been in." They asked more questions, which Janeway answered with her pre-planed answers. Culluh and Seska were getting tired of interrogating her, just when a call from the bridge came in.

"We've arrived at the planet," the voice from the bridge said.

"Good," Culluh said. "Land and drop them off." He gave Janeway a look of satisfaction and it took all of Janeway' power for her to not slug him. She wanted to punch him. Hard. But she resisted and found herself soon on the planet with the others.

--

They watched Voyager lift off and Janeway got to work. She split the crew into groups to find food, shelter, water, and anything else the would need to live. They got straight to work and by the end of the day, they had a somewhat safe place to keep camp and some food and water. All they needed now was a fire and they would be able to keep warm.

Janeway walked around, checking on the work of the others when she came to Samantha Wildman. She held her daughter, Naomi, who was sleeping. Seeing the child, Janeway remembered her own child and began to curse tuvok's horrible timing. She knew it was pointless, but it made her feel better.

A few days later, they still had no fire. It was getting cold at nights, although they found enough edible food. Kes had managed to get a few seeds from Airponics before being removed from there. They planted some of them and Janeway designated a team to watch them carefully.

She was coming from there, when she saw Joe Carey. He looked happy; Janeway hoped he had good news.

"Captain, I think I found a way to make a fire," he said.

"How?" she asked, knowing he wanted to explain and then get praised for his brilliance.

"Hair. If we could use hair for kindling, we would be able to start a few fires," he said. Janeway considered it and decided a few locks of hair were worth losing if they meant a fire. She gathered everyone around and told them that hair donations were needed. She got a few volunteers--herself included--and they had fires that night.

The next morning, she was checking on her people, when she saw Samantha Wildman. She was looking at Naomi, concerned. Janeway came to her.

"How is she?" Janeway asked. It was clear that she was not well.

"She has a fever. Kes is trying to help, but she's having difficulties." just then, Kes came running toward camp.

"Captain!" she yelled. Janeway looked up at the small girl running toward them. "Captain, we're not alone on this planet."

"More people. They might be able to help. Where are they?" she asked.

"Over that direction. I can take you if you would like, but they don't speak english," she said.

"It's alright," she said. She got out her combadge and showed her. "Don't need to." Kes was surprised but took Janeway to see them anyway. Janeway hoped these people would help them because they really needed it.

--

In the shuttle, Tuvok, Chakotay, and Tom were headed back with the Talaxians toward Voyager. It was in one piece, more or less, but under Kazon control. They made a plan, which involved an attack. It was agreed upon and put into action. Using the cloaking device, the shuttle stayed behind until the precise moment. The Talaxians opened fire on Voyager, targeting its weakest points. It first took out weapons and focused on the areas getting repaired.

While the Talaxians fought, weakening the shields, the shuttle got into position to transport as many Kazon as possible to the Talaxian holding ship. The moment came, and all of the Kazon on board were no longer on Voyager. Scans showed there to be only a Cardassian left alive.

They transported to Voyager and got there just in time to witness Seska kill herself and take out most of the bridge with her.

Chakotay turned to the view screen, where a Talaxian was.

"Thanks for your help," Chakotay said.

"Only glad to help. We would have stood no match if the Kazon had the opportunity to fix Voyager." Then they said good byes and the Talaxians headed off. then Chakotay turned his attention to Voyager.

"OK, get that shuttle back into the shuttle bay and find out what systems were damaged. I will be in Engineering," he said, then headed off the bridge. In the turbolift, he got a call over his combadge.

"Sickbay to Commander Chakotay." It was the Doctor. Chakotay had forgotten him.

"Chakotay here."

"Are we in control of Voyager again?" he asked.

"Yes. The Talaxians have the Kazon and Seska killed herself."

"I'm glad to hear that. I must inform you, that while trying to regain control, Suder was killed."

"I scanned and didn't see any other life signs."

"You wouldn't have. He died before you regained control by a good few hours."

"Thank you, Doctor. I have to check Engineering but I will stop by." Then he finally called the turbolift to go to Engineering. It didn't work.

"The Kazon overrode our voice activation."

"Thank you, Doctor." The signal ended and Chakotay sighed. He was going to have to get there the old fashioned way.

--

Janeway saw the people and walked up to them, Universal Translator on.

"Hello. I am Kathryn Janeway," she said. They looked at her and the one who looked like their leader spoke up.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Our ship was taken and we were left here. We were hoping to work together." The leader thought about it and looked at two of his men. They went to grab Janeway, but she was ready. She gave the signal and rocks came hurling at them. After a beating, they stopped. "I hopped it wouldn't have to come to that. Will you help us?"

This time, he really thought it over.

"Yes. I am Konoth. We will help you." Janeway smiled. This might work out better than expected.

--

Konoth and his people came to help the stranded voyager crew. They did not have fire and Janeway told Konoth they would teach them how to make it. Konoth said they would teach the Voyager crew as well.

He started by healing Naomi Wildman, who was getting sicker by the second. Soon, her fever was down and she was giggling like a little baby again.

Seeing that, Janeway began to worry about their own Doctor. Se had given him explicit instructions and was beginning to wonder if he was following them. She wasn't sure if she wanted to know. And then she began to worry about her own child. What would happen to her?

Janeway figured she had some time to figure it out and prayed Voyager came back soon.

--

On Voyager, Chakotay was in disbelief.

"How long?" he asked.

"At least three weeks. And that's just the warp core. We'll have to land somewhere and fix her. With only the three of us, it will take forever and it will be impossible in the air," Tom said. _Great_, Chakotay thought. _Kathryn and I finally start to become more than captain and first officer and this happens._

"Well, I guess we have no choice. Find the nearest M-Class planet and land there. We will make these repairs as quickly as possible." Then he called the staff meeting over and they got to work. He went down to Sickbay, where he found the doctor, active.

"I was wondering when you would arrive," he said. "How bad is it?"

"Well, we need to land and make repairs. With three of us, it'll take even longer. We'll need whatever you have that can keep us active for as long as possible."

"I can get you and Mr. Paris something, although you will find Tuvok should be able to work round the clock for months. I do have something. And I have news."

"What sort of news?" he asked.

"It depends. Seska's child was not yours." Chakotay looked like he was ready to kill something. Or at least break something. _It was all a trap. I led Voyager into a trap. Stupid, stupid me!_ He wasn't about to let up on himself too quickly.

"I do have this PADD. It's a message . . . from Captain Janeway." Chakotay saw it and took it carefully. He stared at it, unsure of what to do. He finally found himself able to move and left the room.

He went to the ready room and watched as Janeway's face appeared.

He listened to the words and began to cry.

To Be Continued . . .

I hope to post the next chapter soon. Please post!


	8. Chapter 8

I do not own Star Trek Voyager.

Six Months Later

They had found a planet to make repairs on and landed. Since then, they had repaired nonstop. Tuvok hadn't slept at all during those past months and Chakotay and Tom got very minimal sleep. The Doctor was trying to help from Sickbay as best he could, but being trapped in Sickbay left him unable to do much.

While Chakotay worked, the only thing he could think of was the message. He had it memorized by heart and could see Janeway vividly when he closed his eyes. He couldn't believe it, but he knew Kathryn wouldn't joke about this. Just knowing that was enough to push him even harder.

He drank black coffee for Janeway, to keep him alert and to make himself feel closer to her. He remembered the words once more and he was given strength.

"Chakotay," she ahd begun. "I love you so much, even the thought of losing you makes me want to keep you all that much closer. I have always been hiding my feelings because the truth is, the scare me. My feelings have become my deepest fear. I try to make excuses to hide them, but I realize know that I must face my fear and tell you how I really feel.

"I love you. I do. I can't think of life without you. I realize that if you're seeing this, something went wrong with the Kazon mission, but the thought of that made me realize how much I needed to tell you this.

"I tried to tell you earlier, in my ready room, but interruptions prevented me. I wish, now more than ever, we had gotten just five more minutes at least. I don't think this can ever show you how much I truly love you. Only in person can I.

"I have news and depending on what has happened to me, will be good or bad. My feelings for you have always been this way, although I hid. Now I cannot hide. I hope that this news can be happy, because I know it should be.

"I am pregnant.

"It was that night on New Earth. I didn't know until a week ago and since then, I have been sorting my feelings. I am glad this happened and I hope you don't have to see this message so I can tell you in person.

"I love you Chakotay, forever and for always." Then the message would end with Janeway blowing an air kiss and a tear falling across her face.

Chakotay had shown no one and just worked harder and harder to get to Janeway. Tom had suggested one of them taking the shuttle to the planet and trying to bring back people to help. Chakotay had liked the idea although it was a bad idea. So much could happen and they weren't ready to give up one of the three of them. They all needed to work. After six months, only a dent had been made. If more people had been there, all their six months of work might have been done in two.

It was now he wished he hadn't gone along with the shuttle. Now was wen he would get angry at Janeway for separating knowingly. He would be angry, until he realized she wanted to keep him alive. That's what he pretended, although he doubted its truthfulness.

As he worked to try to bring the warp drive back online, he found one of Naomi's toys. He picked it up, remembering the girl. Still less than a year old and able to say a few words. Thanks to her Ktarian heritage.

However, as he looked at the toy, he couldn't help but think of Kathryn and their baby. _If they are still alive_, he thought, knowing it was a possibility. He kicked the console and immediately felt the pain of breaking his foot. He screamed, fell to the ground, and began to cry. The pain was too much. It wasn't just from breaking his foot, but from the suffering of being without Kathryn. it was too much. He needed to be there for her and their child.

Tom had heard Chakotay and rushed to him. He saw what a wreck he was in and took him to Sickbay. They both needed a break. They had been working for 37 hours straight.

--

In Sickbay, the Doctor repaired Chakotay's foot. He told Chakotay he needed to be careful, then deactivated himself to save power. Recently, it was the only help he could provide.

That left Tom and Chakotay. Chakotay was still clutching one of Naomi's toys. Tom looked at Chakotay and realized something was wrong. He hadn't seen Chakotay like this, not ever.

"Chakotay, what is it?" he asked. Chakotay looked at him, realizing he was falling to pieces. He didn't want to talk about it. He just wanted to get to Kathryn.

"Nothing, I just need to get back to work." He got up to leave, but Tom stopped him.

"Chakotay, you're not leaving until you tell me what is going on," Tom demanded. it was a bold move since he wasn't the superior officer.

"Out of my way, _Lieutenant_," he said, emphasis on rank.

"No, _Commander_," he answered. "I will get the Doctor to relieve you of duty, if I have to." Chakotay had it. He needed to get work done, needed to get to Kathryn, and this was wasting time. He tried to push pass Tom, but Tom was too quick for him.

"Lieutenant, stand aside," he said.

"I will not. Not until you tell me what has gotten you in this mood. You have been angry, sad, and crazy for the past six months. Something is eating at you and it's not repairs." Tom was practically challenging Chakotay. Tom had no idea how close to home he was hitting. He was walking a thin line and one wrong step would cause Chakotay and his emotions to explode. "What is it, Chakotay? Feeling guilty? Feeling sorry for the rest of the crew? What is it?"

That was it. Tom never saw it coming. He released a monster and it would not die until Kathryn was safely back with him. Chakotay's emotions ran even deeper than he knew. So deep that it was almost impossible to see how Chakotay and this monster looked alike.

The monster attacked Tom, knocking him out. He managed to warn Tuvok via combadge before totally passing out. Tuvok was on Chakotay's tail and painlessly performed the Vulcan nerve pinch, rendering him entirely unconscious.

--

When Chakotay woke up, he felt horrible. He remembered everything that had happened and found Tom looking at him. Chakotay wanted to kill Tom. To just slug him. He sat up and felt the blood rush to his brain. he suddenly realized what was going on with him and calmed down. He was just ready to drop everything, although he doubted Tom was feeling the same way.

And he was right. Tom wanted his answers. Whatever was going on, it was too big to ignore. Tom needed to know. Now.

"What is going on?" he demanded. Chakotay looked at him and said nothing. "Look, I don't know if you are feeling guilty about being here while they are there, or guilty for leading Voyager into a trap, but you need to talk about it. I can tell you I understand--" That was too much for Chakotay. He was feeling guilty about both, but what was really fueling him was his need to be with Kathryn. No way Tom understood.

"You don't know what I feel! Sure, I feel guilty, but that's not it! Nothing close. While I am here, Kathryn and the rest of the crew are stuck on that planet and on top of that Kathryn is pregnant with our child that I didn't even know about until we got stuck here. You think you understand the pain to be away from the person you love and your child-to-be, knowing you are doing nothing to help and that they could be dead already?" He was angry, but that made him feel slightly better. Tom wasn't aware that was how he felt, but he was angry. He did care and he understood.

"Look, you can't tell me I don't understand. I understand completely. I miss B'Elanna. Not only miss her, I love her. I love her and she has no idea how I feel. Not even a clue. So don't tell me I don't understand."

Then they stood there, in silence. They suddenly realized what they had to do. Tuvok wasn't going to like it but they would show him the logic.

They had to or it may be years before Voyager ever got off the ground.

To Be Continued . . .

Please comment! I'll try to post the next chapter soon.


	9. Chapter 9

First off, i want to say that i don't own star trek voyager or its characters.

Second off, i want to thank all of you who have been reading this story and thank you for all of your reviews. they mean so much to me and i am sorry, really sorry it's taken a while. I had had some ideas on where i wanted to go but how i would write it kept changing. I hope you enjoy this chapter and I hope you will be patient with me while i try to write where this is going.

--

When Chakotay and Tom came up to Tuvok, to describe their plan, Tuvok surprised them. He didn't find any excuse for why they shouldn't. Chakotay and Tom both expected a bit more resistance form this logical Vulcan, but instead, he started babbling his Vulcan logic about "proceeding earlier."

"Well then, Tuvok, you have the bridge and what's left of the ship." He was more than ready to get off of that bridge and into the shuttle. He tried to remain focused but continued to get distracted about thoughts of Kathryn, his Kathryn. He realized she may be close to her due date soon and he wanted to find her before then. He needed to find her.

As Tom flew and he scanned, he wondered why it had taken so long for him to realize what must be done. Why had it taken six Earth months? He didn't know and was trying not to think about it. What was important was that they find the planet Seska and the Kazon abandoned them on and start bringing them back to Voyager.

--

The shuttle was able to travel quickly and was able to get to where Voyager's sensors had recorded the drop off. Chakotay was glad they could at least get that much information from Voyager, otherwise their attempt would be useless. However, as they were trying to break the atmosphere, alarms started ringing and bells went off. Before they could do anything to stop what was happening, they found themselves turbulently riding through and just barley being able to land safely. Chakotay was glad Tom was piloting through that mess but he was more concerned with what happened.

He scanned the planet for life signs and found many, many more than he anticipated. He might have expected natural inhabitants, but he was concerned with the human count.

"This must have broken in the landing," he said to Tom. "It's reading over three hundred human life signs."

"Well, the only way we can know for sure is if we go take a look." Tom--who was more than eager to see B'Elanna--wanted to get out of the shuttle more than anything. If the sensors were malfunctioning--although a weird feeling told Tom they weren't--they would need to look--and fast.

They got out of the shuttle--after getting some equipment necessary for the search, and began to look around. They walked toward the life signs the tricorder was picking up and hoped for the best

--

Janeway sat, observing all the commotion. It was crazy. Everyone was talking and telling different stories. Some said they swore they saw something fall and crash land, while others said it had landed, and others just refused to get their hopes up. And Janeway--as Captain--was stuck in the middle of things. She knew she wanted to investigate, but by looking at the sun, she knew it would be dark soon.

"We'll investigate in the morning," she said, making sure everyone understood. Janeway was quite tired and although she hoped what everyone had seen was what they hoped it to be, she knew better. In the time spent here on Destain--as it had been dubbed because of its "des"erts and moun"tain"s--they had gotten their hopes up too high. Although she knew better than to think the positive, she had learned a lot since their arrival and the fact she was without Chakotay had taken its toll on her psychological behavior.

So she decided that it was best to wait because if this was the real thing, they would need light to search and because she wanted to be able to imagine that it was real for that much longer.

--

Chakotay and Tom noticed how quickly the sun sank and it was a bit unnerving. He wasn't afraid of the dark but as the sun sank, so did his heart. It was sinking to fast for them to be able to continue their search for much longer.

They ended up heading back so they could make camp near the shuttle when they stopped. They looked at the shuttle and froze when they saw a figure there.

Through the darkness they had to squint and through his eyes he couldn't believe it.

Next to the shuttle stood his Kathryn. He was sure it was here, although he could only se a faint outline. He ran to her and screamed. Tom saw him and followed him but intentionally not nearly as fast.

As Chakotay neared, the girl turned and he realized it wasn't Kathryn. However, the girl looked at him and Chakotay wasn't sure how she would react.

She ended up giving him a big bear hug complete with tears of joy.

"It's true, you have come! I knew it would be you, Daddy."

To Be Continued . . .

Please comment on what you think. i know its kinda short but i plan on making the next one longer. i'm not sure when it will be posted but i'll try to make it soon.

and once again, thanks to everyone who has been reading my story and commenting on it!! :)


	10. Chapter 10

A do not own star trek voyager or its characters.

So here's the next chapter. i'm going to be gone for the next few days so i won't be posting for a little while but i'll try and get the next chapter up ASAP. enjoy!

--

Chakotay was shocked. He couldn't believe it. He looked at the girl who was hugging him more closely and saw a lot of Kathryn in her. She had the same long red hair and the same blue eyes. She was also quite petite, which was why—in the distance—he had thought she was Janeway. But when looking more closely at her, he could see the differences. She had freckles on her faces—most around her nose—but they weren't totally obvious. They were more like a part of her face.

And she was young. Much, much younger than Kathryn. She looked to be sixteen or something, which made him worried. What had happened here? If this is his daughter—which he could tell by looking at her face—then how did she get so old so fast? According to his calculations, unless something caused Kathryn to deliver early, she should still be pregnant.

Tom came up behind him and looked at the girl. The girl looked back through her large curious eyes. When she looked at him, she smiled. He wasn't sure why. She gave him a hug—but a much smaller one than she gave Chakotay. After releasing them, she grabbed Chakotay's hand and tried to pull him in the direction she was going. He wouldn't budge. She looked at him and froze.

Chakotay felt himself being studied. She seemed to be thinking and trying to confirm his identity. Then she looked at Tom. They noticed something was wrong with her, just by the look in her eyes.

"Have you come to bring us to Voyager?" she asked nervously. Chakotay looked at the girl, unsure of what she meant. She seemed to suddenly begin to worry.

"Not everyone, at least not yet. Voyager needs engineers to repair her first," he explained. This didn't seem to help much. If anything, it made it worse. However, she tried to mask it and if they hadn't seen how nervous she was a few seconds ago, it would have been believable. Apparently, the "captain's face" was genetic.

"Well then, we better hurry if we want to get to town square before it becomes too dark. I'm sure all the adults will be happy to see you." Chakotay and Tom followed but gave each other a confused look. _All the adults?_ Chakotay thought. What did that mean? Were there more children then just this one? Of course, Naomi Wildman would be there, but he got a feeling there would be a lot more children than just these two.

As they walked, Chakotay tried to make conversation and learn some things about what was going on. The walk was long and in a similar direction as they had had walked earlier, but on a different path.

"You know, you have us at a disadvantage. You know our names but you haven't told us yours." She blushed but answered anyway.

"Katrina Janeway," she answered, then continued with a devilish smile. "But if you have any questions, I'll only answer them if you answer mine, one question for one."

"Alright, deal," Chakotay said. He figured she just wanted to know stuff about him—nothing too major or anything—so it wouldn't hurt her to ask. However, he went first.

"What's happened since the Kazon left the crew here?" He wanted to know more general things, to get an idea. Specifics he could get later.

"Well," she said after thinking for a moment, no doubt collecting her thoughts, "sometime soon after the Kazon left, Kes found natives here, lead by Konoth. They agreed to help us and helped cure Naomi. After that, there was some volcanic activity and the crew began to build a settlement. The crew still had hopes of you coming, especially anytime they thought they saw something in the sky. None had been Voyager. Some people managed to stay optimistic and determined while others decided to just settle in and tuck their hope in the deep recesses of their minds. Harry Kim is the former. If you so much as hint at the fact that Voyager's not coming, he flips out. I'd think after all this time, he'd at least let people let themselves believe what they want. My mother's the opposite of him, completely. She still has hope—don't get me wrong—but she's not searching under every rock for a possible way home. I remember this time when I saw Harry actually turning over rocks outside of town, hoping to find something. It was hilarious."

Tom and Chakotay looked at one another. Harry Kim seemed to fit the bill but her mother—who she said was Kathryn—didn't seem accurate. She wouldn't just give up and settle on this planet. That was not like her. Tom needed to know more.

"So you're saying Captain Janeway hasn't been looking for every possible way home?" he asked.

"Well, not now. According to B'Elanna, at the very beginning—after having resources and a system to get more, she was 'vigorously determined' and wouldn't stop trying to patch together idea. But that's just what B'Elanna says. I've never seen her like that before in my life and I don't have even the slightest memory of it. Other people agree with B'Elanna's story but they make it seem much more relaxed about her search, but still searching. Now she just investigates when people 'see' Voyager."

Chakotay was glad to be hearing this small recap of what had happened here on the planet. It would prepare him better for when he got to Kathryn. It troubled him to know something was wrong with her—her actions showed it—and wanted more than ever to be with her and hold her in his arms. How he missed Kathryn.

"So now I get to ask you each a question," Katrina said. "Why has it taken you almost seventeen years to find us?"

That stopped them in their tracks. _Seventeen years? What? No wonder she's this old. But wait . . . how is that possible? _Chakotay thought to himself. He saw Katrina was staring at him with a confused look and realized he must look concerned.

"Maybe you should forget I asked," she said, trying to save them both from answers that obviously were difficult. "Anyway, we're almost there. Just over that hill."

She pointed to it and Tom Paris smiled at her. "Race you," he said and she answered by sprinting off. He followed after her and Chakotay watched with a smile as Katrina won and started giggling. He walked after them, catching up as they were calming down but still smiling.

Then she took their hands and let them look out. They could see the settlement and the town square. They could see their crewmembers and hear the giggles of children. Everyone seemed to be quieting down to go to sleep.

And then it happened. After all this time, it was finally becoming reality. She looked down into the town square and was filled with joy.

Down in the town square he saw her.

He saw Kathryn.

His Kathryn.

--

Janeway stood in the town square, looking for Katrina. She was supposed to be back by now. It was later than Katrina usually came back by a lot. She hoped to find her in the square but instead she found Naomi playing with some of the little children. Naomi and Katrina split up sometimes but she had hoped today would not be one of those days. She walked over to Naomi to ask where and when they had split.

"A while ago."

"Before or after the appearance?" Naomi thought about it, trying to be sure.

"Before. Definitely before." That didn't make her feel any better.

"Where were you?"

"Over the hill, as usual. I don't know why she isn't back yet." Janeway looked up at the hill, where Naomi and Katrina often ventured. She saw nothing and was about to go climb and look on the other side when she saw Katrina reach the top.

And then she saw two figures next to her.

She looked at them, trying to figure out who they were. They didn't seem threatening but from this distance, the Kazon could look unthreatening. However, as she looked at the two, they looked oddly familiar. And then she was able to use the light to see the face of one.

She gasped and prayed that she wasn't hallucinating. Naomi turned to look at her, and then followed her gaze. She saw the figures but they meant nothing to her.

But they were everything to Janeway. She couldn't move as she stared up and took in this moment. Standing there, at the top of the hill was Chakotay.

Her Chakotay.

He was actually there. Voyager had really come. They were going to go home.

But most of all, she had Chakotay back.

To Be Continued . . .


	11. Chapter 11

**Just One More Day**

**Disclaimer: I do not own star trek or it's characters, but Katrina's all mine.**

**A/N: I would like to apologize for taking so long to post, but I had a case of writer's block combined with school and other assorted stuff. I've gotten past the writer's block and have some more free time, so I should be putting chapters up more regularly. I also want to warn you in advance, technobabble is not my thing, so don't kill me if I get the technobabble wrong sometimes. Thanks and enjoy!**

**Chapter 11**

As soon as he saw Janeway, he began to run to her. She ran towards him as well, and they met halfway. Chakotay grabbed her into a hug and spun her around, he was so happy to see her. After spinning and putting her feet back onto the ground, they kissed. Neither wanted to stop but they needed air and saw people beginning to crowd them. Neither blushed as the crowd watched, as they once might have, both too happy to see each other too care.

Tom was slower making his discent and walked alongside Katrina. She watched her mother embrace Chakotay and smiled. Once they made it to the bottom, Tom looked around, recognizing many of the people. The first person that ran to him was Harry, excited as ever.

"Tom, it's good to see you," Harry told them enthusiastically, giving him a hug.

"Good to see you, too Harry."

"Katrina, what did I tell you?" harry asked the girl.

"That this time it was really them. I know, but you've said that every time you've seen a comet," she answered but he didn't seem to care.

More and more people drew to the town square, to see if the rumors were true. As they came, they were amazed to find Tom and Chakotay, and even more amazed to find they hadn't aged a day. The children gathered around to see what the fus was all about, fascinated by the newcomers.

"We have a lot to discuss," Kathryn told Chakotay.

"I agree with you on that." He smiled at her and she melted, then smiled back. Chakotay could see it was his favorite "Janeway smile," even if it was a tad rusty.

They stared into each other's eyes, holding each other's gaze, but then Kathryn and all the people around him disappeared. All except for Tom.

They looked at one another, confused.

"Did that really happen?" Tom asked.

"It seemed real enough," Chakotay answered, "but what I want to know is where every one went."

They looked around and Tom noticed the sun was bright, and coming from the opposite direction.

"I think it's morning."

"Morning?" Chakotay asked. "How could it be morning?"

"Beats me. I'm a pilot, not a scientist."

Chakotay got out his tricorder, scanning for life signs. He found some and smiled.

"Somehow they moved from here to inside each of those building," he told Tom.

"Well then, I guess it's time we give some door-to-door wake up calls."

----------

Naomi and Katrina were playing out in the field beyond the hill, out of sight of the sleeping town. Both girls knew they weren't supposed to be up this early and weren't supposed to be playing up here by themselves, but they wanted to explore and knew that when the town woke up, they'd be too busy with chores and watching the young children. Sometimes she hated being the oldest child —except for Naomi, Kendra, the newest generation of Ocampa, and T'Lana who tended to keep more to herself — because all the other children were so much younger than her.

"Naomi, do you remember Voyager?" Katrina asked from no where.

"Not really," Naomi admitted. "Sometimes, when the adults talk about it, I can almost picture it, but then it's gone. Why?"

"I don't know. I've just been thinking about it a lot recently. Do you really think it's coming?"

"Truthfully, no. It's been fifteen years. If Chakotay, Tom, and Tuvok managed to regain control of Voyager, they would have been here by now."

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing." Both sighed and let the silence engulf them. _It's so peaceful up here in the mornings_, she told herself. _I can't imagine what it's like to live on a starship. I don't see why anyone would want to confide themselves to living in metal ship, breathing recycled air. Although, it would be nice to meet my father . . ._

She sighed, trying not to think of how much she wanted to meet her father. That's one thing both she and Naomi had in common, and one thing they wished more than anything to change.

"Come on," Katrina said, standing up, "we should head back before they noticed we're gone." Naomi stood up, but then stopped, reaching fo her head. "Naomi, are you OK?"

"Ugh, it's just a headache," she told her. Naomi looked up, meaning to look at Naomi but instead looked straight ahead.

She gasped, causing Katrina to look where she was. She gasped too, in disbelief.

In front of them, out of nowhere appeared a shuttle craft. Walking towards it, she read the writing in amazement.

"N-C-C-7-4-6-5-6/1. USS Voyager."

Katrina looked over to Naomi knowingly. Their escape was imminent, so why was it they felt like this was just more false hope?"

To Be Continued . . .


	12. Chapter 12

**Just One More Day**

**Disclaimer: I do not own star trek or it's characters, but Katrina's all mine.**

**A/N: I want to thank everyone who commented, here's the next chapter, as promised. I'll try to post the next chapter as soon as I can, but my teachers have decided to conspire against me and give me loads and loads of work, all due by Friday/next week.**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter 12**

"Is anyone inside?" Naomi asked Katrina who was trying to find a way it.

"How should I know? You're the one looking for the window, not me."

"Right, right. It doesn't look like anyone's inside."

"But someone has to be. How does a shuttle just appear from no where?"

"Maybe we should go back and have the adults look at it later," Naomi suggested, her headache having subsided somewhat.

"That's a good idea. Maybe they'll know how to open the door."

They crept back to the town and peered down the hill, careful to stay out of sight. The hardest part about sneaking into town was the hill, because it could be seen from any point in town and contained no hiding spots. At the top, one could see the entire town — and where every one was. Lying at the top of the hill before going down had become a habit of theirs, wanting to make sure the coast was clear before heading into the open.

They looked down into the village and expected to see no one but gasped as they saw two men walking from the base of the hill into town. Neither Katrina nor Naomi recognized them, until they looked at their outfits.

"OMG, Naomi, they're Starfleet," she said, recognizing their uniforms to be like her mother's, which she no longer wore.

"The shuttle, the crew, they must be looking for us."

"We have to get to them," they both said simultaneously. They smiled at their timing, then got up and ran — as quietly as possible — down to the people. They ran up behind him and when they felt they were close enough to get their attention and not wake anyone in town, they called out, "Hey!"

It was enough to cause Chakotay and Tom to turn around. Both were surprised to see Naomi and Katrina running toward them at this hour.

"Katrina?" Chakotay asked, having to be sure.

"Oh, Daddy, it is you," she said, hugging him. Chakotay hugged her back, feeling slight déjá vu. He looked down at her and smiled. He looked down at her, noticing something was different about her.

"You're younger," he finally said.

"Younger?" she asked, looking at him curiously. "Younger than what?"

"That last time I saw you." She gave him a puzzled look, not understanding.

"But Dad, we've never met. Believe me, I've spent fourteen years dreaming about it."

Chakotay looked over to Tom, who looked back just as confused.

"Come on, you two, let's go wake the senior staff. We have a lot to discuss."

"Is one of those things how you're going to fit over two hundred and seventy people into that shuttlecraft of yours?" Naomi asked as they walked.

"Possibly," Tom answered slyly. Naomi rolled her eyes. She had heard Tom was a jokester, but they all had forgot to mention that his jokes weren't funny. "But then again, we could just be talking about how to throw over a thousand belated birthday parties without anyone ever suspecting." _Well, at least not all of them_, Naomi admitted as she laughed.

The four of them walked into the town and Katrina lead them to a house. She opened the door and went in, signalling for the others to follow.

"Wait in here," she whispered. As she turned to head deeper into the house, she stopped, seeing someone standing in the hall. She remained still, until she could be certain of who it was.

"T'Lana?" she asked, curiously. The figure stepped closer, allowing everyone to see her.

"Katrina, why have you come?"

"I need to get your mother."

"My mother? For what purpose does she serve?"

"You see these people?" she asked, pointing to Chakotay and Tom. "They are from Voyager, and they need to speak to your mother. Can you get her, T'Lana?"

"Yes."

T'Lana stared at the two men for a moment longer, then turned to wake her mother. Both Tom and Chakotay couldn't believe what they had saw. Standing in front of them had been a girl about twelve or thirteen, with long, dark hair tucked behind Vulcan ears. What surprised them most was the faint cranial ridges on her forehead, which belonged only to a Klingon.

"Would either of you mind telling us who T'Lana's parents are?" Chakotay asked both girls.

"Vorik and B'Elanna," Naomi answered.

"Vorik and B'Elanna got married?" Tom asked, unable to believe it.

"Yes, within a year of arriving. T'Lana was born a few months later," Naomi explained. _I can't believe I lost B'Elanna to a Vulcan! How could she give up on me so soon? That's right, she didn't realize I had feelings for her, of course. How stupid of me._ He wasn't looking forward to seeing B'Elanna as much as he had before, feeling it would only depress him. He became silent and waited for T'Lana to arrive, leading B'Elanna behind her.

Suddenly, Naomi's headache returned, even stronger than before. Katrina turned her attention to her, helping her stand up straight.

"Did the headache get worse?" she asked Naomi.

"Yes, very intense for a moment there, but now it's better," Naomi explained.

They began to hear footsteps and T'Lana's pleading voice. "Mother, you must come. Naomi and Katrina have brought people to see you."

"Who could they have brought at this hour?" B'Elanna asked.

"Them," T'Lana said, pointing. B'Elanna looked, but found only Naomi and Katrina.

"Girls, this is not funny," she said sternly. T'Lana froze when she saw Naomi and Katrina standing alone. It took them long to realize, but when they did, they both began explaining in a panic, at the same time.

"One of you at a time. Now why did you drag me out of bed this early in the morning?"

"My Daddy was here but then he vanished."

"And he had a friend," T'Lana added.

"Tom," Naomi clarified.

"What?" B'Elanna asked, stopping her rage before it even began. "What did you say?"

"I said Tom was here, too."

Naomi had expected B'Elanna to get mad and throw something, or at least yell, but instead, she turned around and walked off. Naomi and Katrina couldn't tell why, but T'Lana could feel her mother's tears that were readying to fall.

--------------------

Chakotay and Tom found themselves still in the house, but the light was brighter. Chakotay would guess it was around mid-day. They looked around for Naomi and Katrina, but they had gone missing.

However, the did notice one little girl, staring at them. She looked terrified. Chakotay made one move to calm her when she screamed as loud as she could.

--------------------

"Why are we the ones always put in charge of the toddlers?" Katrina asked Naomi.

"Probably because they figure we have more energy because we're younger," she answered.

"Well, it's getting annoying," she said. "This is the eighth time this month one of them's escaped while the others gang up on us. We're only a pair of eleven and twelve years olds," Katrina dragged on. Naomi looked older, of course, closer to sixteen, but Katrina always said she looked her age: "Older than me," she would joke.

"There she is," Naomi said, spotting Claire. They knew the drill, Naomi goes in from front and Katrina the back, surrounding her. Then, seeing Naomi, Claire tries to run, as they always do, but ends up caught in Katrina's arms.

"Come on, let's go back to town," Katrina suggested, holding Claire securely in her arms.

"Sure-aghh!" Naomi reached for her head, feeling a horrible headache. She waited a few minutes and it left, but she had to stay sitting for a moment.

"Naomi, are you alright?" Katrina asked, worried.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She got up, just to prove it, then heard screaming.

"That's T'Lana," Katrina realized with horror. They both began to sprint toward T'Lana's house, Katrina not letting the extra weight of Claire slow her. They made it to her house and opened the door to find T'Lana with two men she had never seen before.

--------------

B'Elanna heard her daughter's screams and knew her daughter needed her. She dropped the basket with the vegetables she had been picking and ran to her house. She grabbed a stick on her way. Getting to her house, she prepared to use the stick when she stopped, frozen in her tracks.

Dropping the stick, she walked in, straight to the two men. She touched the one with blond hair, then gave him a hug with tears of joy, holding on for far longer than necessary. "Tom, you're really here."

Then, turning to the second man, she smiled and gave him a quick hug, then punched his shoulder.

"What was that for?" he asked.

"That, Chakotay, was for not getting here sooner."

Katrina stared up at the man B'Elanna had called Chakotay and tears came to her eyes.

"Daddy?" she asked.

"Yeah, Pumpkin, it's me," he said, pulling her into a big hug.

"Oh, Daddy." She couldn't stop the tears of joy from rolling down her cheek. Naomi watched them. _I wonder if it will be like that when I meet my father. _ She hoped it would be because seeing Katrina and her father was the most amazing thing she had ever seen.

After peeling her eyes away from watching Chakotay meet his daughter, B'Elanna focused her attention on soothing T'Lana.

"Sweetie, these are my friends. You don't have to fear them."

"I should have suppressed my emotions better, like Father taught me," she said, looking at her feet.

"You had every right to be frightened, seeing two strangers suddenly appear in your home. Do you understand that it's okay to be afraid?"

"Yes, Mother, but . . ." T'Lana stopped mid question, unsure if it was a proper thing to ask.

"What, sweetie?"

"How did they get here?"

To Be Continued . . .

**What do you think? Comments are always welcome.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Just One More Day**

**Disclaimer: I do not own star trek or it's characters, but Katrina's all mine.**

**A/N: I'm sorry this chapter took a while, but I hope it was worth the wait. I'm not that big on technobabble, so please don't kill me if I use the wrong terminology.**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter 13**

People began arriving, trying to figure out what was going on. Vorik pushed his way through the crowd, trying to get to his daughter. She had been suppressing her emotions so much better, so whatever was causing her to scream must be horrifying. It was the only logical conclusion.

Making it inside, he rushes over to her and picks up his ten year old daughter as if she was as light as a feather. He looks at her and uses his telepathic abilities to ask her what is wrong. She points, and for the first time Vorik notices two other men.

He looks at them, recognizing them immediately.

"Commander, lieutenant," Vorik says properly, although he had dropped the habit of calling people by their ranks years ago. He notices Tom is scanning with his tricorder, but for what, he can not be certain. "It has been many years. How did you get here? No one saw anything land."

"We're still working on that, but I have an idea. We'll be needing to meet with the senior staff," Chakotay explained.

"I will find them," he directs towards Chakotay, then turns to face B'Elanna. "Perhaps it is best if you show them the way." With that, he puts T'Lana down and leaves, in search of other members of the senior staff.

-----------------

B'Elanna lead Tom and Chakotay to an old building near the middle of the village. B'Elanna explained it was the first building they created, to cope with the winters.

"I am curious, Chakotay, what took you so long?"

"It's hard to explain. It's better if we just wait for everyone else to arrive." A silence engulfed them. Tom broke it, making small talk.

"So, you and Vorik? Who'd have guessed it?" B'Elanna glared at him. "I have to say, T'Lana's a beautiful girl, just like her mother." B'Elanna blushed. "Her vocabulary however, that's all her father."

"I suppose it's better than playing pool and complaining about Neelix's food." Tom knew she meant that as an insult, but what struck him was the last part of her sentence.

"People eat Neelix's food?" he asked, bewildered.

"Some actually like it."

"Has this planet effected everyone's sense of taste?" B'Elanna knew he was talking about more than food, but Neelix arrived and hugged Tom so hard he couldn't breath. B'Elanna had to laugh; it was the perfect payback for his last comment.

"Nice to see you, Neelix," Tom said after being released from Neelix's steal grip.

"It's been too long, Lieutenant. Commander!" He embraced Chakotay in a similar manner and the look on Chakotay's face was classic. It was all B'Elanna and Tom could do to stop from laughing.

A short while later, Harry joined them and went straight to Tom.

"How have you been?" Tom asked him after a hug.

"I've got a family."

"Harry, that's great!" Tom said, meaning it. "Who's the wife?"

"Tal Celes." Tom looked at him, wanting more and Harry dived into the story of how he and Celes started their relationship and their beautiful children, five year old James Harry Tom Kim, and two year old Tal Britta. They talked and talked, neither realizing Captain Janeway had failed to arrive.

-----------------

Although Vorik said he would get the remaining members of the senior staff, he allowed Katrina and Naomi to get the Captain. Katrina wanted more than anything to see her mother's face at hearing about Chakotay's arrival.

"Mother," Katrina called out, entering their home. As she expected, her mother was not inside. She walked through the house and straight out the back to find her mother sitting, staring up at the sky. Katrina and Naomi both knew what she was doing, although she would admit it to no one. No one even knew she spent her free time looking up at the sky, waiting for Chakotay to arrive besides herself, Katrina, and Naomi.

"Mom, I gotta tell you something."

"Has something gone wrong? I thought I heard screaming."

"No, nothing's wrong, but yes, there was screaming." Katrina noticed her mother seemed out of it even more than usual. Katrina had never know her mother to lounge around when there was possible danger or the possibility of some sort of accident. Seeing how sad her mother was made her even happier to be telling her the news.

"What happened?"

"We got visitors."

"Visitors?"

"Yes, one of them being tall, dark, handsome and sporting an interesting tattoo over his left eye."

"Chakotay," Janeway breathed, unable to believe it.

"He's waiting for you in the Meeting Hall."

Without saying another word, Janeway got up and ran past the two girls, straight to the Meeting Room.

"Doesn't she seem happy?" Katrina asked.

"Yeaaaaagh," Naomi said, her hand reaching for her forehead.

"Is something wrong?"

"Headache."

-----------------

Janeway got there and froze in her tracks. She looked around but Chakotay was no where to be seen. Her spirits fell and she turned away, unable to keep her Captain's mask from slipping in front of what was left of her senior staff and unwilling to cry in front of them.

-----------------

Tom had been scanning throughout their meeting, so he wasn't completely surprised to find themselves no longer when they were. However, he was surprised to find the Meeting Room packed with partying people. He looked around while he scanned the room and stopped when he made eye contact with Harry Kim.

Walking over to his friend, he tapped his shoulder, asking, "Are you planning on hogging Tal Britta all night?"

Harry turned, responding automatically. "Actually . . . wait, how did you know her name?" Finally, looking up, he gasped. "Tom?! How did you get here? What are you doing here?"

"Just celebrating with you and Tal Britta."

"How do you know her name?" he asked for the second time.

"You told me."

"What?" Harry asked, confused. "That's not possible. Celes and I haven't told anyone yet."

"True, but you will."

Harry saw Tom's mischievous grin, wondering what he was up to. However, his daughter reached up, stretching her arm, and Harry was soon distracted by her.

"She's beautiful, Harry."

For that moment in time, neither cared how they got there and just enjoyed it.

-----------------

Kathryn Janeway was congratulating Celes on the birth of her daughter.

"Are you sure you can't tell us her name yet?"

"It's not time yet."

"Of course, of course," Janeway said, even though she still wanted to know the newborn's name. "Can I at least hold her?"

"You'd have to ask Harry. He's stolen her and I can't seem to find either of them." Janeway scanned the room and noticed something in the corner of her eye.

She turned, gasping at what she found. She blinked, to be sure she was really seeing what she thought she was, and smiled when Chakotay still stood in front of her eyes. She walked over to him through the crowd, attempting to regain control over her breathing. She couldn't even keep from smiling as she walked over to him.

"Chakotay?" she asked in a small voice. He smiled and she melted. She touched his cheek, to be sure he was real, and her heart skipped a beat as she felt his warm flesh beneath her fingertips. "Oh, Chakotay, it's really you."

She pulled him into a hug, too happy to even stop a few tears of joy as they spilled from her eyes.

"How did you get here?" she asked after finally breaking the hug.

"Tom and I have an idea, but we need to talk it over with you and the rest of the senior staff."

"Why don't we go into another room, and I'll have someone fetch them," she suggested.

"Sounds like a plan," he said, smiling at her. Just seeing that smile was enough to melt her. She never thought she'd see that smile again. She always hoped she would, but a part of her, the annoying rational side of her, told her that she would never get another chance.

"Great. Then, why don't we just leave and we can talk about it."

She had moved to leave, but Chakotay leaned in and whispered in her ear.

"Aren't you forgetting something?"

She blushed when she realized she had forgotten to send someone to inform the senior staff, and turned to look around. She scanned the people and noticed T'Lana was approaching with Naomi and Katrina.

"Ms. Janeway," the youngest girl said, referring to the captain in the only way she'd been taught, "Naomi's experiencing another headache."

"Really?" Janeway asked, concern for Naomi taking over. "How bad is it?"

"Worse than anything I've ever had," she answered. While Janeway paid attention to the girl, she didn't noticed Chakotay pul out his tricorder and begin to scan, but Katrina did.

"Are you my Daddy?" she asked, curiously. Chakotay looked down at her smiling.

"Yes."

Katrina stifled her squealing as she smiled and gave him a hug.

"Are you here to take us to Voyager?" she asked innocently.

"That's hopefully the plan," he said, only barely stretching the truth. He did want to get them all back to Voyager, but first he needed to talk with the rest of the senior staff, something he realized that was becoming more and more critical with each passing second. "Right now, I need to talk with your mother and the other senior staff. Do you think you could find them?"

She looked up at him quizzically for a moment, then understanding dawned.

"You mean B'Elanna, Harry, and Neelix, right?"

"That's exactly right, Pumpkin," he told her, rewarding her with a smile. Just seeing it filled her up with excitement and she scurried off to find their three guests as quickly as possible, so she could get back to her father. Janeway had sent T'Lana off as well, while keeping Naomi until she said she felt somewhat better.

-----------------

Less than ten minutes later, the remaining senior staff along with Tom, Chakotay, and Janeway were in a separate room, having left the party without notice. After some hugging, Chakotay stood at the front of the room, explaining what had happened.

-----------------

"So, you've arrived after we'd been here seventeen years, and you are continually hopping forward through time?" B'Elanna asked, curious.

"It appears so. This is our third jump."

"Yes, and we can't seem to find any pattern to it, only we seem able to stay in each time period longer as we travel," Tom explained. "We've been using our tricorders and have discovered a spike of chronitons just before we jump and when we arrive, the chroniton levels are even less."

"We don't know how or why, but it seems our jumps use the chronitons and converts them into antichronitons, which appear to be attracting towards Naomi."

Everyone except Tom stared at Chakotay in disbelief. B'Elanna was the first to find her voice.

"Now, I know it's been a while since I studied chroniton particles, but are you saying what I think your saying?"

"Yes. If we don't find a way to stop the chronitons from turning into antichronitons, Naomi will die."

**To Be Continued . . .**


	14. Chapter 14

**Just One More Day**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Star Trek Voyager or it's characters.**

**A/N: I know this chapter's shorter than usual, but I wanted to give you all something. The more you review, the longer I'll make the next chapter.**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter 14**

"What could we do to stop this? If this is a random occurrence, there'd be no way to predict it, and even if it weren't, we have no way to monitor it. A few tricorders is hardly enough," Janeway said, thinking aloud.

"Why Naomi?" B'Elanna asked, drawing everyone's attention towards her. "Why are the antichronitons being drawn toward her?"

"It is possibly her Ktarian heritage?" Neelix suggested.

"I don't think so," B'Elanna said, thinking aloud. "Antichronitons shouldn't hurt corporeal beings, so there's no reason for Naomi to continue to be attacked."

"Maybe the planet changed her in some way," Tom suggested.

Janeway, who had been deep in silent thought was brought back to her memories of their early days on the planet. She had been concerned for her crew, as well as for her daughter which no one else on the planet knew about. she took a leadership role, assigning tasks and working on things near camp, staying close to Sam Wildman and little Naomi. She was always so worried her daughter would catch the same repetitive illness. Luckily, the natives had been able to help her using some special medicines, they called

"Out of Time Rocks," Janeway said, speaking the end of her thoughts aloud.

"Out of Time Rocks?" Tom asked skeptically.

"Isn't that what the translator called the medicines Konoth gave Naomi?" Neelix asked.

"At the time, we had no idea why it was called that, but do you think it could have effected her somehow?"

"It's possible," Chakotay surmised. "Now that we know the cause, how can we stop it?"

Just then, as if the universe decided to torture them, Chakotay and Tom were gone.

-----------------

Chakotay and Tom found themselves once more in the Meeting Hall, only this time it was empty. Tom examined the results of scans and reported to Chakotay.

"The chroniton levels have decreased again. I don't know why they keep deciding to go off, but . . ." He stopped mid sentence, getting an idea. "I've noticed that every time we jump, we stay in the location for longer. What if that is because their are less chronitons to cause a jump, so it takes them longer to get ready?"

Chakotay thought it over, finding Tom's idea plausible.

"OK, so the spent chronitons convert into antichronitons and are drawn to Naomi. How does that help?"

"The effects on Naomi appear to be cumulative, which would suggest that they are going backwards in time as well."

"OK, so they're following us, but how does that help us stop the jumps?"

"We don't want to stop the jumps."

"What?" Chakotay asked in disbelief.

"If we stop the jumps, we remain here, whenever here it, but, if we could find a way to manipulate the chronitons and the antichronitons, we might be able to control our jumps to go back to a specific time."

"And what time did you have in mind?"

"The day the Kazon landed."

**To Be Continued . . .**

**Please review!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Just One More Day**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Star Trek Voyager or it's characters.**

**A/N: Although I didn't get as many reviews as I'd like, but I'm posting again to give all of you guys who do read my stories a chance to read some more.**

**To those who have reviewed:**

_**thesecret21: I'm glad you liked it, here's the next chapter**_

_**The Winged Ferret: I'm glad you're enjoying it, and you'll see about the time. I'll tell you this, there's a pattern.**_

_**chocobo87: thanks!**_

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter 15**

She felt something painfully pull at her mind, as if another presence had arrived. The morilogium had affected her ability to control her telepathy, so she could no longer turn off her passive scanning of other minds. She forced herself to wake completely and focus her mind to find whoever's presence had woken her.

Concentrating on her breathing, she allowed her mind to expand and see the familiar voices of the minds from around her, until she found the one that did not belong. As she expanded her mind throughout the village, she came across not one but two strangers. Only, they weren't strangers.

Focusing on their mind's voices and no one else's, she tried to place where she had heard those voices before. Unable to do so, she decided to simply get up and investigate.

Being quiet so as not to wake her husband, she put on a robe over her pijamas and slipped on her shoes, then headed out the door. Trying to keep her focus so to guide her, she found herself walking to the Meeting Hall. As she got closer, the voices became louder in her mind and more distinctive, but she could not place them. Their familiarity was more an echo of a memory than anything else, and it frustrated her slightly that she could not remember. She blamed the morilogium, but blame didn't help her to remember.

So she walked inside, as silent as ever, until she heard the voices aloud.

". . . so how do you plan to control our jumps?" one asked.

"I think I've found what could be a pattern. We'll need to see when we are now, but if I this pattern is what I think it is, these jumps should bring us there naturally."

Jumps? Who could they be and what were they talking about?

"Then we should figure out when we are," the first voice said.

She needed to figure out the identity of these people and opened the door to the room they were in. She peeked in and gasped when she saw them.

"I agree—" the second, shorter blond was saying until he heard the gasp. He turned toward her and she recognized him by his eyes.

"Tom?" she asked in disbelief.

"Kes?" he responded.

"How—How did you get here?"

"This is gonna sound like a weird question," Tom told her, "but how long have you be here?"

"Here, in this room or here on Destain?"

"On this planet."

"Seven years."

"Seven years. Then I might be right after all."

"Right about what? How did the two of you get here? Did you bring Voyager? How—"

"Whoa, Kes, take it easy. I might only be a medic, but I can tell that too much excitement isn't what you need."

"Do you want me to wake the Captain?" she asked Chakotay, ignoring Tom's statement.

"What time is it?" he asked.

"I-I do not know. It is late, by the looks of things."

"What are you doing up at this hour?" Tom asked.

"Your arrival woke me."

"You didn't experience a headache, did you?" Tom asked, scanning her with his tricorder.

"No, why would I have a headache?"

"No antichronitons," Tom told Chakotay.

"They must have drawn back to Naomi. At least that's consistent," Chakotay responded.

"What are you two talking about?" Kes asked them. "What are antichronitons?"

"They appear to be a sort of, side affect of some time traveling we seem to be doing," Tom explained.

"Time travel?"

"Yes, we don't have much time to explain," Chakotay told her. "Do you think you can tell us everything you remember about the day you arrived here?"

"I can try. Now let me see. The Kazon had taken control and they had gathered us all in the cargo hold, was it? Well, they confined us someplace and then we landed. They lead us out and left."

"About how long did it take?"

Kes tried to think back, but her memory was fuzzy and not helping her much. The fact that she hadn't thought back to those days recently weren't helping her. She only remembered the Kazon because somehow they ended up in a conversation she had had earlier that day.

"I'm not sure. I don't think it was too long, but then again, it wasn't too short, either."

Chakotay asked something else, but Kes had not heard. Her mind had been tugged someplace else. She had been passively sensing everyone else's dreams, besides Tom's and Chakotay's, when suddenly a mind woke up and screamed in her mind in a panic.

The telepathic shock was too much for Kes and she collapsed, luckily caught by Tom. When births had taken place before her morilogium, she had known because she had been telepathically monitoring the expecting women so as to be able to help them quicker but never had felt such sharp thoughts. With her losing control of her basic telepathic control, she had stopped that and this sudden loud and panicked thoughts were hurting her more than she could have anticipated.

"What's wrong?" Tom asked, scanning her with his tricorder, which helped but was not a medical tricorder, so there was only so much he could do with it.

"It's Celes. She's in labor. She's worried because she's afraid to give birth, afraid it will be painful like with human labor, especially since her contractions hurt as much as they do."

"Is there anything we can do?"

"No, if the others knew you were here, achieving the peaceful setting and rhythm Celes needs will be impossible. You will be a distraction to everyone. I must go and help."

Kes turned to leave but a groan of pain screamed through her brain, causing her to collapse, only this time Tom was not there to catch her. As the pain subsided, she realized she had felt something similar when she had awoken, but the presence had been dominant. Reaching out with her mind, she realized it was Naomi who was in pain, not Celes. Before falling asleep there on the floor as she had done once upon a time when they first arrived, she remembered Tom's asking her about a headache and Chakotay's mention of Naomi.

Too tired to try to understand, she allowed herself to fall asleep as best as possible with the distractions of the waking minds making her task even more difficult.

----------------------------------------

Naomi, Katrina, and T'Lana were playing hide and seek with Alixia and Naomi had found herself an excellant hiding place. Alixia was it and from her hiding space, she could tell Katrina and T'Lana had been found. No doubt they had hidden together. T'Lana's father would no doubt say that was illogical, but T'Lana didn't care about logic as much as her father would like.

Naomi watched as Alixia, who looked almost as old as she did even though she was only one year old, came into her line of sight with four year old Katrina and and three year old T'Lana. Even though Katrina was older, T'Lana appeared to be slightly older, due to her Klingon/Vulcan/human blood. Naomi didn't really know who old she looked, but figured it had to be a lot older than Katrina, who was only a year younger than she.

Naomi knew she could come out of hiding whenever she pleased since she had won, but since she was the only real challenge for Alixia, she remained out of sight.

Suddenly she felt a headache so large she fell out of her hiding place up in the tree. She did not notice the pain from her landing, her headache was so great. She hadn't experienced anything like this in a very long time, not since she had been treated by Konoth when she was little. The treatment had made her better, but for days afterward she experienced the most horrible headaches.

The thump she made when she hit the ground got Katrina and T'Lana's attention. The two girls ran to Naomi, to be sure she was alright but Alixia didn't move. She didn't notice anything around her except for one thing.

Her telepathic abilities were crude at best, being only half Ocampa and all, but her one best ability was her ability to sense people's mind and where they were in location to herself. She couldn't read their minds from far away but she could sense them none the less. Naomi was the only person she knew who could keep their presence hidden from her and that was only for short periods of time when she was focusing. The pain Naomi suddenly felt had been a shock to her system, as her mind suddenly registered her proximity. That wasn't why she stood unmoving, terrified.

She stood there because at the same time she sensed Naomi, she sensed the arrival of two strange minds. Investigating, she realized they were in the center of the village and that they were determined. She didn't know what they were determined to do, which terrified her even more than how they suddenly got there.

**To Be Continued . . .**

**A/N: Please review! Whether it be to comment or ask a question, please post some sort of review. The story's nearing its end, but depending on the number of reviews I receive will determine how long it takes to get there. As incentive, I make the following promise. If I get at least 10 reviews for this chapter by Saturday might, then on or before March 22 (in the USA) I will post my next chapter and it will be at least 3,000 words. If I get 15, it will be at least 4,000. And if I get 25 or more, it will be at least 6,000. If I get many more than that, I will make it as long as I possibly can, no matter what. Recently I've been swamped with massive writing assignments and projects for school, which has taken massive amounts of time and although I've gotten many vistiors, I've only gotten 3 reviews (to date) on my last chapter. In the past I haven't been the most timely poster (proven by how this story's almost been up here a year and is only now reaching its fifteenth chapter) but i like getting reviews and because they make me feel like other people actually like what I'm writing and that's its worth the time it takes to get them out of my head and onto a word document. If bribery is what it takes to get more reviews, I'll take it.**

**Thank you! See you in a week!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Just One More Day**

**Author: Naomitrekkie**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek Voyager or its characters, but the ones I made up are all mine.**

**A/N: Sorry this is a day late, but technical problems arose.**

**To those who did:**

_**chocobo87: I kept that in mind the whole time. :D**_

_**LynnEGib: I hope this chapter helps to clarify things somewhat. If you have any particular questions, just ask me!**_

_**The Winged Ferret: That's so sweet of you! ;D**_

_**tayababy: Thanks, it makes my day to know people like what I write.**_

_**LucyMelissa0600: I promise I won't cut it short, I'm just not sure how many chapters until the end, other than it's coming soon. You'll see about the ending, though. ;D**_

_**mab13j: :D (I'd smile bigger but idk how to)**_

_**thesecret21: let's hope this one's just as great**_

_**Sabrina T. S.: mind-boggling, I like that phrase. one chapter, coming up ;)**_

_**CalmintheChaos: I make no promises, but here's that update.**_

**Now here's the story. Enjoy! As always, please review!**

**Chapter 16**

Kes and Celes were in the small day care building, watching the little children. Well, Celes was supposed to be there watching them and Kes was there to fix any injuries that befell the toddlers and infants. Only a handful could even walk, so the work was pretty light. Assisting them was an expecting native, coming close to the birth of her first child. Ravana was her name, and she was one of the few natives who spoke English. While not entirely fluent in the language, she had a better understanding of the it than most of her people, even better than most of the others who spoke it.

Celes had summoned Kes to deal with a cut the oldest child under their care, a short two-and-a-half year old boy named Mark, son of Susan Nicoletti and Michael Parsons, had received while running and tripping over his own feet. Kes was more than happy to help, as she had little else to do in the infirmary. Jenny Delaney had been in earlier for a prenatal examination and Neelix had stopped by between preparing breakfast and lunch in his restaurant, Chez Néelix, to chat, but other than that, no one had been by and she had been growing bored simply cataloging supplies.

After healing the cut with her mind, a talent she had discovered and developed over the years due to necessity and tried to practice whenever she could so as to stay sharp, Mark was off and running again as if nothing had happened. Kes stayed in the day care facility to chat with Celes, something she enjoyed doing. She liked spending time just talking with people, and knowing that she had already lived more than two-thirds of her life only made her want to talk more. She wanted to fit in as much as she possibly could with the time she had left from her short life.

"So, how are things going with you and Harry?" Kes asked, curious. Harry had never given up hope on returning to Earth and to his girlfriend, Libby, even though she had most likely believed him to be dead and moved on. He had seemed completely uninterested in the female population on the planet. That was until Celes walked up to him one day and kissed him, right in the middle of the fields where he and many others had been harvesting. She had been giving him hints but he seemed to be imune to them, until that kiss, anyway. That had been six months earlier, and he seemed to have let dreams of Libby go as he started seeing Celes more and more often.

"Great," she began. "We took a midnight stroll near the lava pools. It was beautiful."

"I remember Neelix took me there once. It sure is quite a sight."

"Yes, but I think the company made it even better," Celes said, a smile crossing her face. Kes smiled back, understanding.

"Ravana, have you ever gone to the _Castintas_?" Kes asked, using the native term for the lava pools.

"Yes," she answered. "I go with Jonthont. He take me when moon up. Very beautiful."

Before either Kes or Celes could respond, one of the infants began to cry. Celes went to deal with it but Ravana stopped her before she could.

"I get it, I get it," she told them, walking over to the crib and soothing the child. Kes and Celes watched her in awe, amazed at the effect she had on the children. Even the fussiest child would calm in her presence.

Kes could not enjoy the sight for long as she felt a sharp, but numb, pain tugging at her through her telepathic powers. She searched for the source and found Alixia was relaying what she felt of Naomi's pain back through their link. The pain, numbed as it might be, was still quiet great and kept Kes somewhat paralyzed for a few minutes. Before she could regain control, Katrina and T'Lana came running in frantically.

"Kes! Kes! Kes!" the girls screamed, running over to her and tugging on her clothes. "Come quick! Come quick!"

"What's wrong?" Celes asked, as Kes had yet regained control enough to talk.

"It's Naomi," Katrina answered.

"And Alixia," T'Lana chimed in.

"What's wrong? What's happened to them?" Kes asked, suddenly regaining control as she blocked the pain, as well as her link with her daughter, from her mind.

"We where playing hide and seek and Naomi fell from the tree," Katrina rushed.

"We went to check on her but Alixia was all still and stuff. We tried to get her to listen but she was all distant and couldn't hear us, so I tried to talk to her with my mind." T'Lana shuddered at this point, obviously having not liked what she had experienced.

"What happened when you did that?" Kes asked, trying to be as gentle as she possibly could.

"It was scary," she answered in a small voice, one that would not be expected from a Klingon-Vulcan-Human hybrid.

"Would you let me enter your mind so I can see it too?" Kes asked. T'Lana nodded her head slowly. Kes focused her mind so as to read T'Lana's mind as quickly as possible, so as to prevent the girl from having to relive anything too traumatizing.

Kes sifted through T'Lana's thoughts until she came across those from the meld. As she expected, they were quite traumatizing. Alixia's mind was frantic. Between the pain she was telepathically receiving and the worry over invaders, she was a frantic, hysterical mess, at least in her mind.

Breaking off the connection with T'Lana, Kes allowed her mind to expand so as to check on Naomi and Alixia. Alixia was still in a panic, but the pain Naomi had been experiencing subsided greatly, replaced by the pain of injuries from the fall.

Kes returned to the link between herself and her daughter, attempting to calm her.

_"Alixia,"_ she called out with her mind. _"Alixia, you must calm yourself. How can I help you if I cannot understand you?"_

_"Mother? Mother, people have invaded the village! Mother, you have to do something! I sense them in the Meeting Hall. Mother, I don't know what they're doing, but they're strangers!"_

_"Alixia,"_ Kes tried to sooth her daughter, _"I will take care of the strangers. I will tell Captain Janeway about them, but I must know about Naomi. How badly is she hurt?"_

_"I-I don't know. She's in a lot of pain. Mother, you have to help her! I see blood, lots of blood." _Alixia's internal voice became completely frantic and panicky, as if she was only noticing the blood for the first time, which she most likely was.

_"I'll be right there,"_ she told her daughter. Turning to look at Celes, she said, "Tell Kathryn someone's in the Meeting Hall. Strangers, I don't know who."

Kes headed for the exit, but Celes asked, "Where are you going?"

"Naomi's hurt," she yelled back behind her as she continued rushing out, not even bothering to stop and turn around.

Still a bit flustered by everything that was happening, Celes turned to Ravana, asking, "Can you stay here and watch the children quickly? I have to go tell someone about this."

"I stay. You go," Ravana told her. Celes felt secure in the knowledge that the children were safe in Ravana's care, then rushed out to find Janeway or someone else with enough authority to deal with the situation.

As she ran through the village toward the fields, as it was another of the year's many harvest times, she came across Janeway in the center of the village, sitting by the fountain. Water never ran through the fountain, as it was a rare commodity, but water did gather in the large base during rainfalls and could be used for drinking if the water gathered through the stills was not enough.

Currently, the fountain base was halfway filled with water due to the unusually rainy season they had recently experienced. Janeway was sitting in front of it, staring down at her reflection. If the problem wasn't so urgent, Celes never would have interrupted her and her serenity, but as the issue was important, she had no choice other than to bring Janeway back to reality.

"Kathryn?" she asked. "Kathryn, someone's in the Meeting Hall. Strangers."

Upon hearing this, Janeway looked up at her. _What sort of strangers could be on the planet?_ she thought to herself. Knowing the situation was urgent, she got up and headed to the Meeting Hall, stopping by a weapons storage building on her way and grabbing a sort of bat to use in self defense. Then she and Celes, who had grabbed a sort of rock slinger, only more accurate, hurried to the Meeting Hall, which they entered with caution. When they heard voices coming from one of the side rooms, Janeway signaled for Celes to go through to the room from the other side, so as to surrond their intruders.

After giving Celes enough time to get into position, she barged in, ready to attack. She had tried to peek inside using the windows in the doors but the intruders, whose voices could be heard but not their words, were out of view from her perspective.

When she got inside, she had the bat at the ready, when she looked over the two men in the room. Both wore Starfleet uniforms, ragged as they may be, both in the red of command. The shorter of the two, who was scanning with a tricorder, had sandy blond hair and blue eyes, but it was the man with him she focused on. The other, taller, Native American man who stood there, a familiar tattoo over his left eye.

"Chakotay?" Janeway asked, dropping the weapon to the floor carelessly.

"Kathryn," he breathed.

Janeway rushed over to him, pulling him into a hug because she needed to feel he was real. "Oh, Chakotay, it's really you."

"Yes, Kathryn, I'm here now, but I won't be here for much longer," he told her.

"What?" Janeway asked, teary eyed. The thought of finally seeing him again and losing him so suddenly was not one she wanted to picture. She wasn't sure she'd be able to lose him again.

"Tom and I have been traveling through time due to a chroniton field we passed through, so we don't have much time. How long have you been here?"

"Five years," Janeway answered. "Five years." She was still a bit shocked about everything that was going on to fully comprehend just how soon he'd be leaving.

"Tom, does that fit in?" Chakotay asked, still keeping Janeway near him.

"Yes, it's following the pattern perfectly," he answered.

"Would you care to fill me in on this 'pattern'?" Janeway asked, annoyance creeping into her voice. She did not like the thought of losing Chakotay again, especially if she did not know why he would be leaving her.

"The pattern in our jumps," Tom explained.

"You've lost me," Janeway said before he even had a chance to dive into the more complex aspects of their journey.

"We arrived on this planet seventeen years after the crew of Voyager was abandoned because of some sort of anomaly in the atmosphere, and almost immediately we jumped to a time when Katrina was fourteen, making time on the planet close to fifteen years. We didn't know how this could be possible, until we jumped a second time. We didn't get the exact year, but Harry told me his children were two and five at the time. Our third jump brought us to his youngest's birth and then our fourth to when his first born was born, which happened to be the same year Kes turned nine. Now, after our fifth jump, we're five years from arrival. Don't you see it?" he asked as if were the simplest thing in the world, but before he could get an answer, two little girls came running in, screaming frantically.

"Mom! Mom!" the redhead yelled.

"Kathy! Kathy!" the brunette yelled.

The two girls ran straight for Janeway's legs, colliding into her with enough force to temporarily cause her to lose her balance, although she quickly regained her composure.

"Girls, what's wrong?" Janeway asked, concerned.

"Naomi's hurt really bad," Katrina told her. "Kes said to tell you."

Janeway, who was unable to think of something to say that a three and four year old would understand and be able to respond to, was saved by the sound of footsteps running towards the room, with the doors suddenly busting open, revealing a panting Alixia.

"Alixia, what's happened?" Janeway asked.

"Naomi fell and she's in critical condition. She's hit her head and broken her spine and my mom's not sure she's gonna make it, not if she gets another one of her headache attacks like she did earlier, before she fell."

Katrina began to cry because even though she wasn't sure what all the words meant, she knew the tone, a tone she only heard before having to go watch a person being buried in a hole in the ground, never to be seen again. Naomi was her friend and she didn't want to burry her. They were best friends. She played with T'Lana and liked her alright, but Naomi had always been there. She couldn't burry her friend and never see her again. She just couldn't.

Chakotay, in an attempt to sooth his daughter picked her up and held her close. She felt safe in his arms and her tears dissipated in his warm embrace. She didn't know who was holding her, but she did not half to. Her thoughts of fear and worry subsided as she lulled of to sleep, leaving Chakotay staring down at his beautiful daughter in awe, never wanting to let go of her.

Tom ended his serene moment with his snoozing daughter by tapping him on the shoulder and whispering.

"Chakotay, I'm not sure the plan's gonna work."

Chakotay gave him a look as if he were ready to challenge him to a fight to the death. This was not the time to be second guessing yourself.

"What do you mean, Paris?" he asked in a low whisper as they crossed the room, his daughter still safely in his grasp. He was unable to use Tom's first name, he was so angry.

"This is going to sound morbid, I know, but the only way for our jumps to continue is from the chroniton and antichroniton reaction, as it's been progressing. It were a simple matter of the pattern, we'd be fine, but for us to get to the right time, we must use the chronitons that build up around us, while releasing the antichronitons. If those antichronitons have no place to go, the reaction doesn't work and we still have two more jumps to go."

"So what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that if Naomi dies, we're stuck here."

Chakotay looked at Tom as if he had announced that if Chakotay was to ever see his Kathryn again, he would have to pray he managed to leave before his daughter died, which in a bizarre and somewhat twisted way, he was. Naomi had been like the daughter the crew hadn't had, with each of them loving her as their own. Even Chakotay had exhibited paternal protectiveness of the only child born on Voyager, well before he even knew about his own daughter.

"You can't be serious," Chakotay told him.

"I wish I weren't. Our only chance is to pray we make it to Voyager in time. If we can carry out our plan before Naomi dies, we might be able to save her, with just a slight alteration to our current plan."

"How slight?" Chakotay asked, not liking the sound of things.

"You know what I said about the antichronitons having no place to go? The process works in reverse as well. If the chronitons have no place to go, the antichronitons won't build up."

Chakotay understood what Tom was saying and the sheer horror of it all danced across his face. He looked down at his sweet, darling daughter, and knew the choice he had to make. It was their only option.

Tom's tricorder began to beep, a prearranged warning Tom had devised, and Chakotay forced himself to set Katrina down gently on the floor before vanishing into another time completely.

-------------------------------------------------------

Kathryn Janeway sat with Samantha Wildman having a small lunch while watching their daughters play together. Well, Naomi did most of the playing as she had the appearance and activity level of a six year old and Katrina simply watched in awe and ran around, occasionally falling down but getting right back up.

"It's hard to believe how quickly she's grown," Sam said, smiling as her daughter laughed joyfully.

"I thought Katrina was growing up fast, but Naomi, it's unbelievable," Janeway answered.

"Yeah, I only wish—" Sam began but stopped herself. She could not think of her husband now. It would only cause her to lose control.

Janeway placed a reassuring hand on Sam's shoulder and smiled at her confidently.

"Sam, Voyager's going to come for us, and we'll make it back to Earth and the Alpha Quadrant, I promise you."

"I know," Sam said, although she had already given up hope of ever returning to Voyager. It had been two years, and two years was too long a time for them to simply be lost.

Suddenly, distant screams could be heard in the background, but neither Janeway nor Sam were bothered by it. It was B'Elanna, as usual. As she neared her due date she became more and more hostile, especially towards her husband as well as directed towards Janeway. Janeway had suspicions their martial problems were greater than Vorik's overprotectiveness. She suspected B'Elanna had loved Tom, although she hadn't realized it at the time. Tom, whom Janeway herself had sent away along with Chakotay and Tuvok, none of which had been seen in the past two years. It was no wonder B'Elanna was mad at her. She was angry with herself, regretting having sent Chakotay along with the away team.

"I love B'Elanna, I really do, but I hope the baby's born soon. I don't think I can take much more of this screaming," Sam commented. "It's giving me a headache."

Suddenly, as if Sam's words had summoned it, Naomi began to cry and scream out in pain, horrible pain. The surprise of the entire incident frightened Katrina, who began to cry as well. Both mothers ran over to comfort their daughters, but there was little Sam could do for Naomi, who's screams had been replaced by the silence of lifelessness.

**To Be Continued . . .**

**Please review! Ask me questions if you have some, I'll try to answer them without giving to much away! I love reading all of your comments!**

**See ya next week!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Just One More Day**

**Author: Naomitrekkie**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek Voyager or its characters, but the ones I made up are all mine.**

**A/N: Wow, it's been a long time since i've updated. Here you go. Thank you to all my devoted readers, enjoy this long awaited chapter. Thanks for sticking with me!**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter 17**

Tom and Chakotay heard screaming before they even knew where they were. Once they got past the sheer loudness of it, they were able to understand the words and identify the voice's owner, an _extremely_ agitated B'Elanna Torres.

**"I WANT YOU OUT NOW! GET OUT OF THIS HOUSE OR I SWEAR TO KAHLESS I WILL KILL YOU WHERE YOU STAND, YOU VULCAN P'TAK!"**

"How much you wanna bet she's yelling at Vorik?" Tom asked Chakotay, who was secretly revealing in the knowledge that his competition was getting verbally harassed.

"Tom, I'd never take that bet. Let's go investigate."

With that, the two of them made their way out of the Meeting Hall and toward the source of the yelling. It lead them to a house they had seen before, a house Tom wasn't particularly fond of. That is, until he saw Vorik being thrown out the front door and stumbling outside, while B'Elanna stood in the entrance, completely pissed off.

"I am only leaving for the child's sake," Vorik said as he straightened himself and his shirt. Then he walked off in the opposite direction of Tom and Chakotay, not even noticing them. B'Elanna's angry face changed to the brink of tears after Vorik was long gone. She still stood in the door frame, yet to notice either Tom or Chakotay's presence.

When she finally looked up, the first thing she saw was blue eyes, smiling blue eyes. She stood there for a moment, to make sure it was real, before quickly crossing the gap between herself and Tom, bringing him into a passionate kiss, which stopped only for her to hug him and cling to him as if her life depended on it.

"Oh Tom, you're here. You've come," she said.

"You betcha. It seems I've come just in time, too," Tom said.

"Believe me, your timing could have been better," she said, taking his hand and placing it on her pregnant belly, so he could feel the baby's kick.

"She's so much like her mother," he said, "what an active and beautiful child she is."

"Tom, how did you know it was a girl?" B'Elanna asked, amazed.

"Because I've met her, well, a possible future version of her. By the way, how long have you guys been here?" he asked.

"Two years," she said, slightly dazed. "What do you mean you've met a future version of her?"

Before another word could be said, a voice from behind them started screaming.

"Kes! KES! **KES!**" none other than Kathryn Janeway screamed. The three of them turned and headed toward her, as did many other people. Kes sprinted over and was the only one to enter the room. Chakotay pushed himself close to Janeway, both trying to get closer to her and see what was wrong.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"It's Naomi. She's had another attack," Janeway said, too distraught to even notice she was talking to Chakotay. She focused on the crying redheaded toddler in her arms. "Katrina, shhhh, shhhh, Mommy's here. Everything's going to be OK. Shhhh, baby, shhhh." She rocked the child in her arms but Katrina cried on, not a piercing scream-cry, but more of a teary whimper.

"Here," Chakotay said, taking Katrina from Janeway, "let me try."

As soon as she was in Chakotay's arms, Katrina stopped her crying and fell asleep, feeling safe in his protective presence.

"That's amazing," Janeway said, "she's always so stubborn when it comes to crying."

"I guess it just takes a father's protection to scare away all the problems in the world," Chakotay said, and for the first time, Janeway realized who she was talking to.

"Chakotay?" she asked in disbelief. "How did you get here? When? And–"

"Shhhh," Chakotay said, putting his index finger of the hand not holding Katrina to her lips. "I'll explain everything, let's just move away from all the commotion.

"I like that plan," she said, a smile on her face. Thoughts of things escaped them as Chakotay told Janeway about how they came to be there, conveniently leaving out the end of their plan.

-----------------------------------------

Inside, Kes had rushed over to Naomi and reached out to her with her mental powers. Naomi was alive, but just barely. Her breathing was shallow, so shallow it was invisible unless you stared at her from just the right angle. Her heartbeat was also slow, and Kes was concerned. She only knew of one possible way to help Naomi, and she wasn't even sure that would work, even if she cold do it properly.

"Kes, can you help her?" Sam asked, teary eyed and shaking. Kes couldn't look at Sam and not feel all the worse. Naomi was all Sam had left and the despair of losing Naomi showed on Sam's face. Kes had never seen someone look so torn to pieces in her life and was determined to do everything in her power to help Naomi.

"There may be something, but I can't make any promises," Kes said, trying not to give Sam false hope.

"Please, do it. If it has even the most remote possibility of working, do it, please." Sam was practically begging and Kes could not bear to see her friend this distraught any longer.

"I promise I'll do everything I can," Kes said with a soothing touch to Sam's hand. Sam nodded her understanding, then backed away, giving Kes her space. She watched as Kes put her hands on Naomi's face to strengthen the telepathic bond and did not move from the sight. She watched them diligently, afraid to lose her daughter at any second.

_Please, if there's some higher power, please let Naomi live. Please don't take my daughter from me. Please_, she pleaded with any god that might exist. It was hard enough being separated from her husband, but she wasn't sure she could bear to lose her daughter and last connection to him. _Please, save her._

--------------------------------------------

The information about what had happened had leaked through the crowd and into Tom and B'Elanna's ears. Tom said nothing, feeling horrible, while silently praying she lived, not just for their purposes, but because he really liked the girl. B'Elanna and her hormones were upset and worried, while she clutched her pregnant belly and held it tight as if afraid to lose her daughter if she let go.

"Come on, let's go find someplace to sit and wait, someplace quiet," Tom said, leading B'Elanna to a bench near the center of the village. They sat together and B'Elanna did not let go of Tom's hand, leaning on him for support.

"It's not looking good for Naomi," B'Elanna said. "She's having a relapse."

"Shhhh, shhhh, B'Elanna. Naomi will be fine. Kes is in there and I've seen Kes' ability to heal. Naomi will make it, she will."

"Oh, Tom, I'm so scared," she said and Tom knew this was not about Naomi.

"Don't worry, B'Elanna, I've seen it and you make an excellent mother."

"You're just saying that," she said.

"No, I'm not. This child may be half Vulcan, but you're able to bring her up to both express and surpress her emotions while still be a fun, beautiful little girl, plus she's got a mother who loves her more than life itself. Believe me, B'Elanna, this girl is lucky to have you for her mother."

"Oh, Tom, I love you," she said. "This thing with Vorik, it was because of some stupid Vulcan mating cycle, pon favv or something. If I didn't he would have died and—"

"Shhhh," he said, putting his finger to her lips, "I know and I don't blame you. You did the right thing. I understand completely and I love you too."

Neither said anything more, as there was really nothing more to be said, at least nothing more they wanted to talk about yet. All they wanted to do was sit there together, forever if possible.

-------------------------------------------------

Baby Katrina woke up and looked around with her large blue eyes. She smiled and reached up with her arm and grabbed onto Chakotay's nose, then touched his tattoo.

"Da-da," she said for the first time. This was not her first word, but the way the family reacted it may as well have been.

"Yes, Katrina, I'm your Daddy," Chakotay said and she giggled.

"Ma-ma! Da-da!" she cheered, squirming to escape. Chakotay put her down on the ground and she started running in a small circle around them both, to the amusement of her parents.

"She's beautiful," Chakotay told Kathryn, "just like her mother."

Janeway playfully punched his arm, smiling the entire time. It was so good to have him back.

But it didn't last long. Soon he was gone, leaving a sad Janeway and a confused Katrina.

"Ma-ma, wur da-da?" she asked, her large blue eyes looking up at her mother with all their childhood innocence.

"I don't know, Sweetheart, I don't know."

------------------------------------------------

Tom had his arm wrapped around B'Elanna, and she was snuggled in his chest. She was beginning to fall asleep, feeling safe with Tom protecting her. She was too tired to stay awake; her screaming match with Vorik earlier had really drained her. She had finally found some peace in her world. She couldn't have been happier that Tom had returned. As she had gotten further along with her pregnancy, Vorik had been irritating her more and more, but the reality was she had been more irritated by the fact he wasn't Tom. She had been feeling guilty and frustrated but now that was gone. Tom had understood and that had lifted a great pressure off of her shoulders. She felt so much better.

But then he'd said it. He loved her.

He loved her.

Even though she was carrying someone else's baby, he loved her. If she had the strength, she might have cried. She didn't deserve him, but for right now, she didn't care. She just wanted to sleep in his arms forever. She never wanted this moment to end. Part of her fought her tired eyelids but his whispers of "I love you" in her ears relaxed her and she let sleep come.

She wasn't sure how long it took, but after a while she felt Tom kiss the top of her head, waking her up. She looked at him and he kissed her long and hard on the lips, then disappeared. She was too tired to really understand what was happening, but a part of her felt as if this were merely a dream, while part of her knew this was more than that. It was real, and while the kiss had warmed her, she knew she'd never see Tom again.

It both made her stronger and broke her heart. She knew she loved Tom, and for him, she'd continue.

------------------------------------------------

Kes entered Naomi's mind. It was a strange thing, to go in this deep. Naomi was hiding deep inside herself and Kes had to go in and find her if this was going to work.

It was a strange thing, to be in the mind of a child. Naomi had so many creative ideas, usually, which Kes had only seen in passing, but now, it was totally different. The outer layers of Naomi's mind were barren and empty, like a wasteland. As Kes journeyed in deeper, she began to see a forest of thick, prickly, thorny trees. She ventured in them, as she knew this was where Naomi was hiding. She used her mental powers to push the thorns away, but the vines wouldn't budge. Naomi's mind was stronger than Kes knew.

"Naomi! Naomi, it's me, Kes! Please let me in! I'm here to help!"

At first, nothing happened. Kes would have yelled out again, but a small gap in the thorns opened and Kes saw a light emerge from it. It was just big enough for her to crawl through, so she did. She entered and was amazed by the beauty of Naomi's secret little world.

"Naomi," Kes said to the little girl, who stood in the center of her world wearing a beautiful pink dress and her hair done up in curls, with a flower crown adorning her head. "Naomi, I'm going to help you. Take my hands, and I'll take the pain away. I promise."

The small girl had an innate trust of Kes and took her hands. She was a bit shy about letting go of her pain, but Kes was able to convince her to let go.

Kes hadn't been ready for the shear amount of the pain. It was so great, much greater than anything she had been expecting. Naomi's face relaxed some from the slightly tense look it had possessed, but Kes would not have believed that Naomi had been able to look as peaceful as she had while bearing this pain. Kes wasn't sure she could do it, but she knew she had to try.

Taking another look at Naomi to gather internal strength, she focused on the pain and used it to help her control her thoughts. She took over Naomi's nervous system and made the pain disappear. She focused all her energy and concentrated on bringing Naomi's body back to normal levels and healing her. It took more concentration than she knew she had, but Naomi's calm and trusting presence helped her and gave her strength.

She was progressing so far but then something changed. Suddenly, the pain grew again, so suddenly it shocked Kes into place. It was worse than the pain had been before, but Kes held on, more by inability to move than by choice. Even with her taking a load of the pain, Naomi's face changed drastically, suddenly becoming one of a person in complete and total pain. Kes tried to suppress the pain and work around it to control both of their nervous systems, but it was too great.

Somehow, Kes managed to make it work and heal them both, but she knew one thing for certain. Had she not been there, Naomi would not have been able to bear it. She would have died and Kes had no explanation as to why.

**To Be Continued . . .**


	18. Chapter 18

**Just One More Day**

**Author: Naomitrekkie**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek Voyager or its characters.**

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who's been reading and reviewing! Enjoy the penultimate chapter!**

**Chapter 18**

It had happened. They had jumped.

Both knew that this was their last chance, their only hope. They would never see the ones they loved again, not ever.

They had to be quick, they knew that, but still, they had to take in the sights around them. There they stood, directly under Voyager. Their calculations had been correct.

They couldn't see the crew, but they didn't want to. If they did, they would be distracted and they couldn't afford to be distracted, not now.

The bottom of Voyager was still open, but it was closing fast. Tom and Chakotay had to run to make it on, but they did, just in time. The found themselves greeted by two Kazon, which they quickly and silently took down. With the Kazon unconscious and the clock ticking, they told the computer to mask their bio-signs. Then Tom scanned the ship for the location of the Kazon. Finding a safe passage, they hurried to Sickbay, the only place that could help them.

Chakotay gathered the Kazon's weapons as Tom worked, then they headed out, taking the fastest Kazon-free route. Tom lead the way with his tricorder and Chakotay followed behind him, alert for Kazon.

They knew what they had to do once they got to Sickbay, and in the back of his mind, Chakotay was having doubts. He didn't want to think about what ifs and such. It was going to work, it had to. It was the only way, and they had to be quick. While they ran, the chronitons and antichronitons were building, threatening little baby Naomi's life. They had to do this now, or it was all over.

They made it to Sickbay and Tom got to work while Chakotay stood guard. This was more Tom's area of expertise, but Chakotay wished it was his so he could be the one working and not thinking about everything. He didn't want to think about what they were about to do, or he'd think himself out of it.

But he got an idea. He knew there was something he could do. He pressed some buttons on the computer screen and began. He didn't have much time, but it didn't take much time, either. He was done by the time Tom was, and they set their plan in motion.

Chakotay just hoped his idea worked, but there was no time for that because everything was going black. It was the end and the last thing he saw before death was an image of Kathryn with Katrina and him from their previous jump.

"I love you, Kathryn," he whispered, then there was nothing.

-------------------------------------

On the planet, the crew of Voyager stood ready for the ship to fly off, but that moment never came. Instead, the bottom of the ship opened after what seemed like hours and Janeway, being the Captain, lead a team inside to investigate. They had been expecting a struggle but found none. Instead there was only dust and guns lying on the floor every so often.

Janeway made her way to a console and asked who was on board. The computer gave only the species making up the boarding party.

"What happened here?" Janeway asked.

"Message for Captain Janeway."

"From where?"

"Message for Captain Janeway."

"Who sent it?"

"Message for Captain Janeway."

"Alright then, open it," Janeway said, trying not to be too moody. She didn't want to become an emotional wreck in front of her crew. When she saw the message, however, she wished she was alone. It was from Chakotay and whatever he had to say would leave her an emotional wreck, she just knew it.

"Kathryn," he began, "it's me. I'm here, with Tom, trying to stop the Kazon. There was a sort of temporal accident, and we're from the future, only now it's not the future any longer. We've changed it, but in order to do so, we had to kill everyone. Tom set it up so that all living things — except in the kitchen and Airponics — will be disintegrated and Voyager should open up when it's safe. Have the Doctor check Naomi as quickly as possible — she may still be suffering from antichroniton poisoning, we aren't really sure what will happen. We only know this was they only way. The only way to save you and all of Voyager. Kathryn, I love you, and I'll love you forever. You and Katrina."

With that the message ended and Janeway was frozen in place. It was too much to take in. That and her raging hormones caused her to overload and black out. If Harry Kim hadn't been standing next to her, she would have hit her head too.

-------------------------------------

Janeway opened her eyes and found herself staring at the ceiling of Sickbay. With all the time she'd been spending in Sickbay recently, she didn't think she would ever get the smell of the place out of her mind.

Only, she didn't know why she was there. She tried to remember what she had been doing before she arrived there, but she couldn't. She was drawing a blank. She tried to focus her thoughts, when it suddenly all came flooding back to her. Chakotay's message and all. He'd told her how he felt and that he was doing this for her, for them all. He had died so to get them home, to save them from the Kazon.

She started crying. How could this be happening to her? How could Chakotay have died, not even knowing about their child? She wanted to cry until she had no more tears. This wasn't real — it couldn't be. It just couldn't. She wouldn't believe he died.

And then she heard it. His voice. He was calling her name, calling out to her.

"Kathryn, Kathryn, are you awake?" he asked and Janeway tried to blink the tears from her eyes to see his face. She felt him take her hand and hold it close, but she could only make out a blurry image of his face.

But that was enough. She sat up quickly, needing to hug him. She needed to feel that he was really there, more than holding hands would allow.

Tears fell again, but this time from joy rather than distress.

"Oh, Chakotay, I thought I'd lost you," she said. "How did you survive?"

"Survive the shuttle ride? Tuvok and Tom aren't _that_ bad of company."

"No, I meant, in your message, you said . . . you said it would kill every living thing. How did you survive?"

"That wasn't me," he said. Before she could object, he added, "I saw the message, and it was from me, but a different me. One from the future. A future that won't ever exist because of what he did."

_At least part of it will still exist_, she thought, thinking of her unborn child. Then she remembered something. In the message, he'd said he loved her and Katrina. She didn't know anyone named Katrina, except for maybe one little child yet to be born.

Thinking of their child caused Janeway to cry again.

"Hey, shhh, shhh," Chakotay said, attempting to calm her. "Everything will be alright."

"That's not it. Chakotay, before you left, before I sent you away, I was trying to tell you something, something important." Chakotay sat patiently waiting and Janeway tried not to lose her momentum. She needed to tell him now, before she chickened out. "I'm pregnant."

Chakotay heard the words but did not respond. Janeway waited for something, any sort of sign to tell her how Chakotay felt. After a few minutes of silence, she had to speak up. She needed to know what he was thinking.

"Chakotay?" she asked.

"A baby?" he managed. The whole incident with Seska and the Kazon rattled him. "A baby . . . That's wonderful."

"Really?" Janeway asked, feeling very insecure.

"Really," Chakotay answered.

"I love you, Chakotay."

Then she kissed him, letting him know that wasn't going to hide anymore. She loved him and their unborn baby and she was never going to hide that love, not ever again.

**Almost the end. Just a short epilogue to follow. Please review!**


	19. Epilogue

**Just One More Day**

**Author: Naomitrekkie**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek Voyager. If I did, I'd be too busy making it to be writing about it here.**

**A/N: So here it is. This is the end. Nineteen chapters and it only took me a loooooong time. Thanks to everyone who's read and reviewed, this is for you guys. Please R/R. **

**Enjoy!**

**Epilogue**

Chakotay had had to deal with a lot over the past few months — mood swings, a coffee banned Captain, alien threats, worrying, yelling, the Doctor, just to name a few things — but as he stood there, holding his baby girl in his arms, he knew it was worth it. She was beautiful —

"— just like her mother," Chakotay was telling Janeway. Janeway had taken a nap since giving birth was watching with a smile as Chakotay held their daughter. It was a perfect scene, Janeway thought to herself, seeing Chakotay as a father, holding his baby. Their baby. Sometimes it was hard to believe it was true.

The Doctor came a while later — Janeway was holding her daughter now — to scan both mother and daughter.

"Everything's in order. Both in perfect health. Now all you need is a name." He looked at both Janeway and Chakotay, who both exchanged glances, as if they were having a telepathic conversation.

"We haven't picked one yet," Janeway told him. They had talked about this more than once, in fact, practically none stop for the past few months. They still hadn't come to a consensus on one. There were so many names out there, but whatever one suggested, the other turned down. Now, with their daughter alive and in their arms — three weeks early, but neither parent was complaining — they needed a name. Janeway thought they were going to have to go through the whole argument again, but Chakotay didn't start it up again. Instead, he said a name Janeway hadn't heard since seeing the Kazon.

"Katrina."

"What?" Janeway asked. She didn't want to think about the other Chakotay, the one who'd died, the one she never told him about, and that name would be an ever constant reminder.

"Yeah, Katrina. It just fits."

"I'm not sure—" she started but Chakotay interrupted.

"Just look at her Kathryn. Look at her and say she's not a Katrina."

And so Janeway did. She looked at her baby girl and forgot all about the other Chakotay and why she didn't want to name her Katrina. Looking into her daughter's blue eyes, it all made sense.

"Katrina," she said lovingly, warming up to the idea.

"Katrina Janeway, our daughter."

"Our Katrina," Janeway said, agreeing the name stuck. She never would figure out that she'd been the one to name her daughter in a time that could have happened. She only knew that her daughter was Katrina. That was who she was born to be and would be for always.

**The End**

**A/N: OK, so I'm considering writing a sequel (maybe even a whole series) to this, about the lives of Katrina, Janeway, and Chakotay. If you have any idea PM me/send a review. It won't be for a while (i've got so many ideas in my head, most Who related, but not all) it will be some time before I get a chance to start them, but with summer, who knows?**

**Thanks again to everyone who's read and stuck with this story, you guys rock. Remember, please review!**


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